Stressor
Encyclopedia
Stressor is a chemical or biological agent
, environmental
condition, an external stimulus
or an event
that causes stress
to an organism. An event that triggers the stress response may include for example:
Biological agent
A biological agent — also called bio-agent or biological threat agent — is a bacterium, virus, prion, or fungus which may cause infection, allergy, toxicity or otherwise create a hazard to human health. They can be used as a biological weapon in bioterrorism or biological warfare...
, environmental
Environment (biophysical)
The biophysical environment is the combined modeling of the physical environment and the biological life forms within the environment, and includes all variables, parameters as well as conditions and modes inside the Earth's biosphere. The biophysical environment can be divided into two categories:...
condition, an external stimulus
Stimulus (physiology)
In physiology, a stimulus is a detectable change in the internal or external environment. The ability of an organism or organ to respond to external stimuli is called sensitivity....
or an event
Event
Event can refer to many things such as:* An observable occurrence, phenomenon or an extraordinary occurrenceA type of gathering:* A ceremony, for example, a marriage* A competition, for example, a sports competition* A convention...
that causes stress
Stress (biology)
Stress is a term in psychology and biology, borrowed from physics and engineering and first used in the biological context in the 1930s, which has in more recent decades become commonly used in popular parlance...
to an organism. An event that triggers the stress response may include for example:
- environmental stressors (elevated sound levelsNoise health effectsNoise health effects are the health consequences of elevated sound levels. Elevated workplace or other noise can cause hearing impairment, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, annoyance and sleep disturbance. Changes in the immune system and birth defects have been attributed to noise exposure...
, over-illuminationOver-illuminationOver-illumination is the presence of lighting intensity beyond that required for a specified activity. Over-illumination was commonly ignored between 1950 and 1995, especially in office and retail environments; only since then has the interior design community begun to reconsider this practice.The...
, overcrowding) - daily stress events (e.g. traffic, lost keys)
- life changes (e.g. divorce, bereavement)
- workplace stressors (e.g. role strainRoleA role or a social role is a set of connected behaviours, rights and obligations as conceptualised by actors in a social situation. It is an expected or free or continuously changing behaviour and may have a given individual social status or social position...
, lack of control)