> > > A landmark UCLA study suggests that women respond to stress with > > > a cascade of brain chemicals that cause us to make and maintain > > > friendships with other women. It's a stunning finding that has turned > > > five decades of stress research -most of it on men- upside down. "Until > > > this study was published, scientists generally believed that when people > > > experience stress, they trigger a hormonal cascade that revs the body to > > > either stand and fight or flee as fast as possible," explains >Laura Cousino > > > Klein, PhD, now an assistant professor of biobehavioral health at > > > Pennsylvania State University in State College and one of the study's > > > authors. It's an ancient survival mechanism left over from the time > > > we were chased across the planet by saber-toothed tigers. Now the > > > researchers suspect that women have a larger behavioral repertoire > > > than just "fight or flight." In fact, says Dr. Klein, it seems >that when the > > > hormone oxytocin is released as part of the stress response in a woman, > > > it buffers the fight or flight response and encourages her to >tend children > > > and gather with other women instead. When she actually engages in this > > > tending or befriending, studies suggest that more oxytocin is released, > > > which further counters stress and produces a calming effect. > > > > > > This calming response does not occur in men, says Dr. Klein, because > > > testosterone-which men produce in high levels when they're under > > > stress-seems to reduce the effects of oxytocin. Estrogen, she adds, seems > > > to enhance it. > > > > > > The discovery that women respond to stress differently than men was > > > made in a classic "aha!" moment shared by two women scientists who > > > were talking one day in a lab at UCLA. "There was this joke that when > > > the women who worked in the lab were stressed, they came in, cleaned > > > the lab, had coffee, and bonded," says Dr. Klein. "When the men were > > > stressed, they holed up somewhere on their own. > > > > > > "I commented one day to fellow researcher Shelley Taylor that nearly > > > 90% of the stress research is on males. I showed her the data >from my lab, > > > and the two of us knew instantly that we were on to something." > > > > > > The women cleared their schedules and started meeting with one scientist > > > after another from various research specialties. Very quickly, Drs. Klein > > > and Taylor discovered that by not including women in stress research, > > > scientists had made a huge mistake: The fact that women respond to stress > > > differently than men has significant implications for our health. > > > > > > It may take some time for new studies to reveal all the ways >that oxytocin > > > encourages us to care for children and hang out with other women, but the > > > "tend and befriend" notion developed by Drs. Klein and Taylor may explain > > > why women consistently outlive men. Study after study has found >that social > > > ties reduce our risk of disease by lowering blood pressure, >heart rate, and > > > cholesterol. > > > > > > "There's no doubt," says Dr. Klein, "that friends are helping >us live longer." > > >In one study, for example, researchers found that people who had no > > > friends increased their risk of death over a 6-month period. In another > > > study, those who had the most friends over a 9-year period cut >their risk of > > > death by more than 60%. > > > > > > Friends are also helping us live better. The famed Nurses' Health Study > > > from Harvard Medical School found that the more friends women had, > > > the less likely they were to develop physical impairments as they aged, > > > and the more likely they were to be leading a joyful life. In fact, the > > > results were so significant, the researchers concluded, that not > > > having close friend or confidante was as detrimental to your health as > > > smoking or carrying extra weight! > > > > > > And that's not all: When the researchers looked at how well the women > > > functioned after the death of their spouse, they found that >even in the face > > > of this biggest stressor of all, those women who had close friend and > > > confidante were more likely to survive the experience without any new > > > physical impairment or permanent loss of vitality. Those without friends > > > were not always so fortunate. > > > > > > Yet if friends counter the stress that seems to swallow up so much of our > > > life these days, if they keep us healthy and even add years to >our life, why > > > is it so hard to find time to be with them? That's a question that also > > > troubles researcher Ruthellen Josselson, PhD, coauthor of Best Friends: > > > The Pleasures and Perils of Girls' and Women's Friendships (Three > > > Rivers Press, 1998). "Every time we get overly busy with work and family, > > > the first thing we do is let go of friendships with other >women," explains > > > Dr. Josselson. "We push them right to the back burner. That's really a > > > mistake, because women are such a source of strength to each other. We > > > nurture one another. And we need to have unpressured space in which > > > we can do the special kind of talk that women do when they're with other > > > women. It's a very healing experience."
