We all know what it feels like to be stressed. Maybe you have a big test, or a lot of homework, or something is happening at home. It feels like something that's just inside your head and body, right? But what if stress could actually spread to other people around you?
According to experts who study the brain, there's a scientific way that stress can pass from one person to another. It's not like catching a cold, but it does involve your body!
The main player in this stress spreading is a special chemical called cortisol. Think of cortisol as your body's main stress hormone. When you're stressed, your body makes more of it.
Now, here's the surprising part: Sources suggest that cortisol can actually come out in your sweat. It can apparently leak out a little distance around you.
What happens then? Tiny bits of this stress hormone from your sweat can reportedly get into the skin of people who are nearby. And when that happens, it can affect their bodies too.
It sounds a bit strange, but Dr. Tara Swart (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCW2NHbWNwA) compares it to how other hormones, like those that affect periods, can spread through sweat among women who live or work close together, causing their cycles to line up. Cortisol works in a similar way.
This idea of stress spreading can be really important, especially in places where people are together a lot, like in a classroom, a sports team, or a workplace. The sources say that a leader's stress levels can have a bigger effect on the people who work for them than everyone else's stress combined. People can apparently pick up on this stress even if the person doesn't look stressed or upset.
This way of stress spreading through sweat and hormones is different from something called "social contagion." Social contagion is more about how if your friends do something, like get divorced or gain weight, you might be more likely to do the same thing. The stress we're talking about here is a physical way the hormone cortisol can affect someone else's body just by being near them.
So, next time you're feeling stressed, remember that it might not just be staying with you. And when you're around others, especially someone who seems stressed, you might be picking up on more than just their mood – you could be picking up on their stress hormone too!
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