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Glossary

Allostatic load

Defined in topic 28

The cumulative cost of holding the body ready, named by McEwen and Stellar in 1993 and estimated from markers such as blood pressure, waist, lipids and stress hormones.

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Where this comes from

In the reference topic that owns this term

Reference topic 28, Stress and the Hijacked Alarm, states the mismatch as a card: what the system evolved to expect, what it gets instead, and what happens in the gap.

Mismatch card

What it expects

Threats that arrive, get answered with the body, and end, among allies.

What it gets

Uncontrollable social evaluation without end, in steep hierarchies, carried into the night on short sleep and thin company.

What happens in the gap

Rhythms flatten, tissues stop hearing cortisol's stand-down order, inflammation runs on, wounds close slowly and primed arteries fail sooner.

The full card, and the topic behind it

What that chapter recommends

3 of the 7 graded recommendations in Reference topic 28, strongest evidence first. How the grades work.

  1. Move most days, and let some of it be hard

    StrongEvidence grade: Strong. Multiple randomized controlled trials, or consistent large cohort studies with a well-understood mechanism.

    Across 97 reviews covering 1,039 trials and 128,119 people, physical activity produced medium reductions in depression, anxiety and distress, larger at higher intensity. In 10 trials it lowered cortisol modestly.

    Read it in full

  2. For persistent anxiety or stress, consider an eight-week mindfulness course

    StrongEvidence grade: Strong. Multiple randomized controlled trials, or consistent large cohort studies with a well-understood mechanism.

    Meditation programs beat inactive controls modestly and no active treatment reliably. In one trial of 276 adults with anxiety disorders, an eight-week course of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) was non-inferior...

    Read it in full

  3. Borrow calm from people before you need it

    ProbableEvidence grade: Probable. Good observational evidence with a plausible mechanism, or small or few trials.

    Bring a trusted person to the stressful thing, not just to the debrief.

    Read it in full

Related terms

The argument behind this term, its studies and its notes are in Reference topic 28 of the reference library. The book gives the practical version. Get the book.