The Upside of Stress: Why Stress Is Good for You and How to Get Good at It

by Kelly McGonigal

STRESS AT 36,000 FEET A student sent me the following story shortly after the last lecture in my New Science of Stress course. Reva and her husband, Lakshman, had taken the course together. After the last class, they flew to Australia to be with one of their daughters, who was expecting a baby. Lakshman suffers from heart disease, and one of the symptoms is obstructive sleep apnea. He needs to use a continuous airway pressure machine on flights to maintain adequate oxygen. The machine has to be plugged in, and it takes up a lot of space—something that makes flying a very stressful experience for both of them. On this flight, the power outlet was on the ceiling, and the connection kept coming loose. Because it was a night flight, the plane was dark, which made it hard to see. Reva, who has knee replacements, had to climb on her seat to reconnect the machine. Trying to maneuver in the cramped row was painful. She felt her whole body responding to the stress. This is exactly the kind of situation where most people would say a stress response is a problem. Reva and her husband had little control over the situation, and getting angry at the outlet, the flight attendants, or each other wasn’t going to help. Fleeing was impossible—unless they had brought parachutes and planned to dismantle the emergency exit window. Not to mention that Lakshman was at high risk for a heart attack. He surely didn’t need an adrenaline rush at 36,000 feet. But Reva remembered that the stress respons...