Robert Sapolsky on Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers

Robert Sapolsky, PhD, author of Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, is a professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University.  What makes Dr. Sapolsky unique is that he spends several weeks off campus hanging out with zebras and baboons on the Serengeti Plain of Kenya as a research associate with the National Museum of Kenya.

He has yet to come across a lion, zebra, elephant, or baboon that’s stressed out thinking about “stuff.”  Yet when he returns to the Stanford Campus Green, he is confronted with people stressed out for no apparent reason other than the fact that their thoughts about responsibilities, deadlines, and simply making it through the day are too much to handle.  Through studying and learning from the psychologically healthy interactions and behaviors of primates, Sapolsky teaches people how to live healthier, more enjoyable, and less stressed out lives.

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In the following video clips Sapolsky, describes his work as well as the lessons that primates can teach us about living more productive lives.

• The following clip gives a brief synopsis of Sapolsky’s work and its ramifications for us:

• This next video clip presents us with a more in-depth look at Sapolsky’s work:

• In the following video, Sapolsky speaks briefly about depression being an organic disease in the same way that diabetes is organic:

• The following video, on the uniqueness of humans, is a full length lecture given by Dr. Sapolsky at Stanford University: