The Stress Response, step by step
The sequence, from perceived threat to recovery.
- DetectionThe amygdala flags a threat, before conscious appraisal.
- Immediate responseAdrenaline: heart rate up, breathing fast, blood to muscles, digestion paused.
- Sustained responseCortisol rises over minutes, releasing glucose and suppressing non-urgent systems.
- RecoveryThe parasympathetic system restores baseline — if the threat ends.
When it does not end
- Sleep disruption
- Impaired immunity
- Digestive problems
- Difficulty concentrating
General education. Persistent stress affecting daily life is worth raising with a clinician.
Questions about the The Stress Response poster
- What’s on the The Stress Response (Sleep & mind) poster?
- 4 numbered steps, with a full worked run-through. The sequence, from perceived threat to recovery. Detection — The amygdala flags a threat, before conscious appraisal.; Immediate response — Adrenaline: heart rate up, breathing fast, blood to muscles, dig…; Sustained response — Cortisol rises over minutes, releasing glucose and suppressing n…; Recovery — The parasympathetic system restores baseline — if the threat ends.. General education. Persistent stress affecting daily life is worth raising with a clinician.
- Who is the The Stress Response (Sleep & mind) poster for?
- The Stress Response (Sleep & mind) belongs to the Body & health section rather than to a school year, because health is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning sleep & mind can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
- When should you use the The Stress Response (Sleep & mind) poster?
- The response is designed for minutes. Problems come from leaving it switched on for months. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so The Stress Response (Sleep & mind) belongs on the wall where that health work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
- What other posters go with The Stress Response (Sleep & mind)?
- Attention, Breathing Techniques and Burnout sit alongside The Stress Response (Sleep & mind) in the Body & health section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.AttentionBreathing TechniquesBurnout
- Is the The Stress Response (Sleep & mind) poster free to download and print?
- Yes. The Stress Response (Sleep & mind) downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Body & health section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
- What size does the The Stress Response (Sleep & mind) poster print at?
- The Stress Response (Sleep & mind) is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of The Stress Response (Sleep & mind) loses nothing.Printing guide
Related posters
Charts that sit alongside The Stress Response on the same wall.
Browse every Body & health poster, or start from the full catalogue.