Is an adrenaline rush good or bad for health?
A 2003 study in the medical journal Stroke found that men with the highest stress levels had twice the risk of a fatal stroke compared with the slackers who said they were stress-free. The value of adrenaline-charged sports like downhill mountain biking isn’t in stress reduction, by the way. It’s in stress production. Researchers at Texas A&M University found that adventure sports such as rock climbing and white-water canoeing call up more cortisol and epinephrine — more commonly known as adrenaline — than public speaking, the acknowledged champion of redline stress reactions. And in this case, that’s a good thing. That’s because activities that are physically and mentally stressful help your body react better to stress in everyday life — if they meet three qualifications: They’re dangerous, involving the risk of death. They’re unpredictable, requiring your brain to adjust to changing conditions. And they’re social, increasing the pressure to perform well, whether it’s for teammates
