Book · 1998 · Stress (Physiology)
Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers
An Updated Guide to Stress, Stress-related Diseases, and Coping
Why people recommend it
Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers by Robert M. Sapolsky is a classic scientific exploration of how chronic psychological stress impacts human biology, contrasting modern human anxiety with the acute stress responses of wild animals. On Modern Wisdom, Chase Hughes cited Sapolsky's work to explain natural healing mechanisms and stress processing. Mark Sisson similarly declared it one of his all-time favorite books on The Joe Rogan Experience, emphasizing its foundational role in explaining the physiological effects of stress and cortisol. On The Ezra Klein Show, Rachel Zofness recommended the book as a top resource for understanding the mind-body connection and altering one's relationship to pain. Other podcast guests, including Dr. Gad Saad on Modern Wisdom and Andrew Huberman on Huberman Lab, brought up Sapolsky's research to analyze the differences in stress between prey animals and humans, and to honor the Stanford professor's monumental contributions to behavioral biology. Additionally, Stephen Dubner mentioned the book on No Stupid Questions while discussing Sapolsky's broader academic research on novelty-seeking and aging. Across these platforms, commentators repeatedly relied on Sapolsky's expertise to decode the evolutionary mismatch between modern living and ancient biological wiring.
Who recommended it
- Chase Hughes Recommended
- Mark Sisson Recommended
- Gad Saad Discussed
- Rachel Zofness Recommended
- Andrew Huberman Discussed
Chase Hughes — 1 mention
“And zebras um and Robert Sapolsky wrote a book about a lot of this stuff but how nature knows what to do. It doesn't suppress healing mechanisms. It's called Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers.”
Mark Sisson — 1 mention
“why zebras don't get ulcers is one of my favorite books of all time and again it set the whole thing for stress and cortisol”
Gad Saad — 1 mention
“so uh sapolsky uh wrote a book many years ago called uh why zebras don't get ulcers”
Rachel Zofness — 1 mention
“one is why zebras don't get ulcers by Robert sapolsky”
Andrew Huberman — 1 mention
“my colleague David Spiegel at um Stanford Psychiatry and the the great Bob spolski Robert spolski of why zebras don't get ulcers y behave Etc and fame”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker — 1
“so as you were talking about the rats I was thinking about the research by Robert sapolski about novelty seeking an age I know Robert sapolski the zebras don't get ulcers guy at Stanford”