Welcome to Chasing Life.

You know, we've all been there.

Heart is pounding, your blood is pumping, your breath starts to shake.

Might sort of feel like a predator is chasing you, except there is no predator.

You're just late for work.

You're just stuck in a traffic jam.

Okay, now think about that experience.

That very intense feeling that's washing over you. That is your cortisol at work.

Cortisol. That's a so-called stress hormone, maybe something that you've heard of. And if you go

online, you'll see that it gets blamed for just about everything nowadays.

Weight gain, bad sleep, mood swings, hypertension, infertility, even diabetes.

But how much of that is really true?

Well, today's guest is going to help me navigate the reality of what may be one of the most

misunderstood hormones. Dr. Robert Sapolsky. He's a neuroscientist, a biologist, he's a professor

at Stanford University. He's also spent more than three decades studying stress. He has lived

with baboons in Africa, and he also runs a neuroscience lab.

He's author of Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers.

Such a great title for a book.

It's pretty much the book to read on stress.

Honestly, he's one of my favorite people to talk to.

We've had him on the podcast before, and let me tell you, you're in for a real treat.

I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta,

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