Two Types of Stress

This lesson separates the effects of stress into two categories. Short-term stress caused by a single event or a temporary situation, and ongoing or chronic stress. The effects of short-term stress are less serious as a rule and so easier to deal with.

When stress becomes longer-term and the symptoms become chronic (high blood pressure, heart disease, it has a more serious impact and the effects can be harder to correct.

Other ways of explaining the Rest-Activity Cycle

You'l hear the rest-activity cycle described as BRAC (Basic Rest-Activity Cycle) and the Ultradian Rhythm or Ultradian Shift. This latter term was popularised by Ernest Rossi in his book The 20-Minute Break.

This lesson includes a video by Dawson Church, a health writer and researcher, which explains the Ultradian Rhythm and how to understand and harness it to avoid the negative impact of stress.

The Rest-Activity Cycle

In the following video, Dawson Church explains Ultradian Rhythms, which refers to the same pattern as the rest-activity cycle.