A recent UCLA study indicates that women may live longer than men because they deal with stress differently. According to the study, the body, when it is stressed, triggers a hormone called oxytocin that causes the “fight or flight” response in men. But in women, high estrogen levels may dull the hormone’s effects and produce a “tend or befriend” response, an urge to cultivate social ties. And this less confrontational response may lower blood pressure, thus reducing the risk of disease.
