What Stress Is Really Doing to Your Body

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In today's episode, Haylie Pomroy sits down with Dr. Jaime Tartar, Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Nova Southeastern University, to reframe everything you think you know about stress and give you the science-backed tools to actually manage it.

Dr. Tartar explains the biological difference between acute stress, chronic stress, and eustress, why worry is a physiological state that releases cortisol, and how perception is the single most powerful variable in whether stress helps or harms you. She walks through the neuroscience of cognitive reframing, the measurable brain benefits of gratitude, and the two-phase sleep cycle that determines how well you process emotions and recover from the day before.

She also covers screen time, electronic boundaries, the physiological impact of nature and movement on the stress response, and practical strategies for helping children navigate catastrophic thinking.

For anyone navigating chronic illness, autoimmune conditions, long COVID, or ME/CFS, watch this episode of the Hope and Help For Fatigue and Chronic Illness podcast.

Jaime Tartar is a Professor of Neuroscience at Nova Southeastern University. She earned her Ph.D. in the Behavioral Neuroscience program at the University of Florida, where the focus of her research involved discovering long-term changes that occur in neurobiological pathways involved in stress responses and developing animal models of stress. Dr. Tartar has also completed Postdoctoral Training at Harvard Medical School, where she studied the neurological consequences of sleep perturbations using in vitro electrophysiological recording techniques. She also received training in Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate at Nova Southeastern University. Dr. Tartar is the co-founder and CEO of The Society for Sports Neuroscience, an academic organization for the field of Sports Neuroscience. Dr. Tartar's current research is focused on stress, sleep, and athletic performance in humans.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaime-tartar-1545889/

Haylie Pomroy, Founder and CEO of The Haylie Pomroy Group, is a leading health strategist specializing in metabolism, weight loss, and integrative wellness. With over 25 years of experience, she has worked with top medical institutions and high-profile clients, developing targeted programs and supplements rooted in the "Food is Medicine" philosophy. Inspired by her own autoimmune journey, she combines expertise in nutrition, biochemistry, and patient advocacy to help others reclaim their health. She is a New York Times bestselling author of The Fast Metabolism Diet.

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