Hacking the stress system: the stress response as an adaptive trait that can work for or against
you
I - Introduction to the course and the evolutionary basics of stress

Course: Performing under Pressure
´Faculty of Sports Studies
´Schedule
´Every Tuesday at 9:00
´Lecturer
´David William Mac Gillavry
´404280@in.muni.cz
´Office hours – upon request
´

Who am I?
´Religious studies (UvA / MUNI)
´Cognitive science of religion
´Western esotericism
´Secrecy dynamics
´Military Management (UNOB)
´Stress & PTSD
´Leadership
´Nutrition
´Social conformity & in-group dynamics
´

My current research
University of Defence
´Stress resilience under extreme conditions
´Leadership & combat leadership
´In-group dynamics & moral behaviour under extreme conditions ´Preparation for high-stress
experiences

Course specifics
´The course aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the evolution and
function of the stress response, as well as practical methods to optimise this response for better
performance. Students will learn that the stress response is a double edged sword that can be
incredibly harmful to both short-term performance and long-term health, or a tool with which to
tackle complex problems under time pressure. After successful completion of the course students
will have a both a theoretical basis and a set of practically applicable techniques, with which the
stress response can be optimised for performance in both oneself and others.

Syllabus
Lecture
Topic
Seminar
1
Introduction to the course and the evolutionary basics of stress
Your stress in a wider context
2
Social stress, reproduction and hierarchy
3
On the genetics and epigenetics of stress resilience / sensitivity
4
On the intersection between culture and stress
5
Why stress makes you stupid, most of the time
What stresses you and why?
6
Depression, PTSD and anxiety
7
On the psychology of lying, deceit, and how stress makes it all much worse
8
Lifestyle and stress I: Nutrition & Sleep
How can you optimise resilience?
9
Lifestyle and stress II: Sport & Social connections
10
Optimising the stress response for greater
performance
Practical solutions for stress management

Course requirements
´Be here, be active & be prepared
´A term paper
´Min 5 pages (2.0 spacing)
´Proper bibliography and referencing (preferably APA)
´Subject of your choosing as long as it relates to stress and peak performance
´

Stress in an evolutionary context
´Stress evolved to protect the organism from (often life-) threatening stimuli.
´
´Other species (who wish to eat you)
´Infections (bacterial and viral)
´Parasites
´Injury
´Out-group members (struggle over recourses)
´In-group members (struggle over position)

Specific solution for a specific problem
´Evolution usually endows us with specific solutions for specific problems.
´
´The stress response, however is a single solution to a host of different unpleasant stimuli.




Nature selects for speed
´Speed over accuracy
´It matter less where you run than that you run as quickly as possible
´
´Limited time frame (5 min)
´Most negatives effects of stress are the result of turning on the system for way longer than the
approximately 5 minutes it usually takes.
Sapolsky, R. M. (2004). Why zebras don’t get ulcers: A guide to stress, stress related diseases,
and coping. In Natural History. https://doi.org/10.1002/cir.3880060119
Heitz, R. P. (2014). The speed-accuracy tradeoff: History, physiology, methodology, and behavior.
Frontiers in Neuroscience, 8(8 JUN), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2014.00150

Both the lion and the gazelle need the same acute processes to survive
´
´Energy (fuel + oxygen)
´
´Hyper cognitive focus on the task at hand
´
´Down-regulation of non-essential processes
´
´Upregulation of the immune system

One major issue to address
´The point of this course is NOT [sic!] to reduce or eliminate stress! If you are in a situation
that requires a functional, focused and quick response, you had better get stressed like any other
mammal!
´Stress management
´(Genetic) disorders that impair the stress response
´Psychopathy
´Addison’s disease
´

An easy conceptualisation of the different neurotransmitters involved
´Noradrenaline (movement)
´Blood pressure / heart-rate
´Respiration rate
´ Task related focus and memory
´
´Cortisol (energy)
´Release glucose (fuel) from glycogen stores
´Suppress inflammation
´Blood pressure
´
´Dopamine (direction)
´
Schultz, W. (2002). Getting formal with dopamine and reward. Neuron, 36(2), 241–263.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0896-6273(02)00967-4
Ross, J. A., & Van Bockstaele, E. J. (2021). The Locus Coeruleus- Norepinephrine System in Stress
and Arousal: Unraveling Historical, Current, and Future Perspectives. Frontiers in Psychiatry,
11(January), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.601519

Stress as a promotor of peak performance
´Without stress you’d get bored! Nothing would get done, and you would probably die off as a
species.
´
´Stress facilitates / supports
´Movement
´Progress
´Community
´Human excellence against all odds
´
´