If reading this book is just one of many productive tasks on your to-do list today and you're multitasking, you are an alpha. Though you can and do push past any physical or emotional inconvenience, there is likely at least one bothersome health issue slowing you down. You are probably proactive and not intimidated by much, but when even experts cannot identify the cause of your insomnia, short-term memory loss, pain, weak immune system, or slow metabolism, it can be disheartening. When you notice more hairs than normal falling out or struggle to fall asleep, you may say to yourself It's just stress. But it's not just stress. It is a sign that your body cannot differentiate between worrying or rushing and fighting for survival. Even when your stress level is not high enough that you are conscious of it, that stress can trigger a physiological long-term stress response. When this happens, your body sacrifices all systems in favor of creating sugar to power the fight for which you are postured-sugar which cannot be used in an imaginary fight-so your body then stores it as fat.

Your body uses pain to warn of imminent physiological consequences. Ignoring pain is a counterproductive way to prove resilience. Yes, waking up early and doing more by noon than most do all day might seem appealing, but is not physiologically sustainable. The mysterious health issue hindering your productivity is not the only cost of living an alpha lifestyle. Stress is a direct health risk factor and a root cause of other major health risk factors: over-eating, smoking, alcohol, and inactivity. My clinical research of 1,000 patients shows a direct correlation between stress and health, provides a way to standardize qualitative and quantitative measurements of stress, and offers an antidote.