Clearly, men and women tend to deal with stress in very different ways -- but why?
One of the most important reasons why men and women react differently to stress is hormones. Three play a crucial role: cortisol, epinephrine, and oxytocin.
When stress strikes, hormones called cortisol and epinephrine together raise a person's blood pressure and circulating blood sugar level, and cortisol alone lowers the effectiveness of the immune system.
"People used to think there was a difference in the amounts of cortisol released during a stressful situation in women," says Robert Sapolsky, PhD, professor of neurobiology at Stanford University.
"The thinking was women released more of this hormone, and that produced all sorts of nutty theories about why women are so emotional."
According to the results of a new study from researchers at the University of Illinois in the United States, men and people over 65 who live in an environment where nature is more present, sleep better.
Perfectionism is a trait many of us cop to coyly, maybe even a little proudly.
The most agreed-upon definition of perfectionistis simply the need to be perfect, or to at least appear that way.
The all-or-nothing, impossibly high standards perfectionists set for themselves often mean that they’re not happy even when they’ve achieved success. And research has suggested that anxiety over making mistakes may ultimately be holding some perfectionists back from ever achieving success in the first place.
Cheaters of the world, rejoice. Science has found a new scapegoat for you to blame your lack of a moral compass on. Turns out that cheating, and other unethical behaviors, could be a product of hormonal reactions, according to a new study.
University of Texas at Austin and Harvard researchers looked at the reproductive hormone testosterone and the stress hormone cortisol, and found that the endocrine system played a dual role in unethical acts, meaning that hormones play an important role in encouraging and reinforcing cheating.
First, elevated hormone levels predict likelihood of cheating. And then, a change of hormone levels during the act reinforces the behavior.
Read more: Hormones may be to blame for cheating, unethical behaviour?
Swedish researchers think the planet might be less threatened by air pollution from cars if more men followed the example of women.
When it comes to caring for the environment, is there a gender difference between men and women?
Women in industrialized countries are more likely to buy ecologically friendly and organic foods, more likely to recycle and more interested in efficient energy use, according to research by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
