Blog — Stress

By Dr. Beth Baldwin, ZRT Laboratory If one were to create a word cloud of our clinical consulting calls in 2020, the word “phosphatidylserine” would likely float to the center in a large, bold, brightly colored font. After a year spent coping with a global pandemic, record high unemployment, social distancing, and remote learning for students, accompanied by not only an extreme wildfire season but also a contentious presidential election in the U.S., people are stressed – and it shows. We are seeing plenty of patients with abnormal salivary cortisol profiles, absent, blunted or exaggerated cortisol awakening responses, and symptoms typical of both high...

Dr. Sanjay Kapur, ZRT Laboratory.  Stress and depression have both been linked with diabetes and heart disease, and if left untreated, can lead to more complications. Understanding these two contributing factors can help doctors formulate suitable treatment plans for their patients, so it is important to discuss the possibility of having either stress or depression with our health care providers even if they forget to ask.  Stress can come from many sources, including one’s occupation; having lost or the threat of losing our jobs or homes; or taking care of our elderly parents or children with disabilities. Stress in all...

By Margaret Grove, ZRT Laboratory. Sometimes you look back and wonder where all the time went. Let’s see - in my twenties, the younger, sexier me had been to University and embarked on a career in medical research, and I’d been very active in my leisure time – including hiking and skiing every year in the Alps. I was too invested in my career and hobbies to have children and wanted to put that off until the right time. In my thirties, I eventually realized it was time to start a family before it was too late. At age 35...

By Dr Kate Placzek, ZRT Laboratory We love talking about the sun! We grumble about it being hidden away behind heavy rain clouds for months at a time in the winter; we delight in the first breakthrough rays in the spring, realizing our pagan longing for it, watching, as if for the first time, as everything around us wakes up from a deep slumber; we marvel at its delightful, almost intoxicating warmth in the early summer; and yes, we find it irritating when the temperature goes a dash over 80 degrees, or if stays too hot for too long into...

O sleep, O gentle sleep, Nature's soft nurse, how have I frighted thee,That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids downAnd steep my senses in forgetfulness? William Shakespeare, Henry IV A good night's sleep is important to health. During sleep the body is in an anabolic state when energy conservation, tissue repair and growth take over. The body temperature drops, growth hormone is secreted and immune cell production is increased. Thus sleep is essential for a healthy body and a peaceful mind. Insomnia is defined as difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep and affects roughly 50% of all adults. It...