Cortisol gets blamed for everything from sleepless nights to stubborn belly fat, but the real story is far more complicated. Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks with <a href="https://profiles.stanford.edu/robert-sapolsky">Dr. Robert Sapolsky</a>, a neuroscientist, biologist, and Stanford University professor, and author of <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780805073690/whyzebrasdontgetulcers/">Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers</a>, about what this stress hormone actually does and why it matters. Sapolsky explains how chronic stress affects sleep, metabolism, mood, and long‑term health, and shares what we can learn from creatures who manage stress far better than we do... including how you might do the same.   
Our show was produced by Jennifer Lai.  
Medical Writer: Andrea Kane  Showrunner: Amanda Sealy  Senior Producer: Dan Bloom  Technical Director: Dan Dzula Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

Want to Keep Your Eyes in Tip-Top Shape? Here’s How

All over the world, there are people who are living extraordinary lives, full of happiness and health – and with hardly any heart disease, cancer or diabetes. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been on a decades-long mission to understand how they do it, and how we can all learn from them. Scientists now believe we can even reverse the symptoms of Alzheimer’s dementia, and in fact grow sharper and more resilient as we age. Sanjay is a dad – of three teenage daughters, he is a doctor - who operates on the brain, and he is a reporter with more than two decades of experience - who travels the earth to uncover and bring you the secrets of the happiest and healthiest people on the planet – so that you too, can Chase Life.