Stress disrupts the architecture of sleep and is a primary driver of clinical depression, as it exhausts the brain's dopamine and serotonin systems. Social Hierarchy and Stress

One of the most profound sections of the write-up involves Sapolsky’s research on baboons. He found that:

Low-ranking individuals in a hierarchy suffer from higher basal stress levels and poorer health.

Sapolsky breaks down how prolonged exposure to stress hormones (like glucocorticoids and adrenaline) ravages the body: