Well, some stress. In an article from the February 23 edition of Newsweek Lessons In Survival Ben Sherwood describes research done by Dr. Andy Morgan to find out why some people deal better in high stress situations than others. Dr. Morgan studied military special operations personnel in comparison to standard duty troops to see what might account for the higher performance levels of the elite troops.

Morgan found one very specific reason that Special Forces are superior survivors: they produce significantly greater levels of NPY compared with regular troops. In addition, 24 hours after completing survival training, Special Forces soldiers returned to their original levels of NPY while regular soldiers were significantly below normal.

NPY is an Amino Acid produced by the body that peforms a number of functions. People who have more of it do better under stress than people who produce less.

With so much more NPY in their systems, the Special Forces soldiers were much more clearheaded under interrogation stress and performed better according to the trainers. Special Forces soldiers really are special and different from the rest of the Army. They stay more focused and engaged in a crisis and bounce back faster afterward because their bodies produce massive amounts of natural anti-anxiety chemicals. In the fog of war—and everyday life for that matter—that’s a major advantage.

My question would be if physical conditioning effects NPY levels? Special operations soldiers spend a lot of time doing PT. Does increase NPY levels or is it the increased NPY levels that allow for more stamina when doing PT? If it’s the latter, then perhaps NPY can be synthesized and given as a supplement.

Does repeated stress during training stimulate the body to produce NPY?

How does this relate to EMS? I wonder if a similar study done among EMS personnel would show that those cool, calm, think of everything, medics that we all envy have more NPY than the rest of us?

Or does years of being in EMS result in an increase in NPY production and thus being more calm on stressful calls?

Of course, there is a down side to increased NPY levels.

Unfortunately, this metronomic effect is usually associated with early heart disease and even sudden death. Morgan wonders whether the same thing that makes you really good at surviving under high stress may not translate into excellent heart health when you’re 50. Without it, though, these elite forces might never even make it that far.

Interesting stuff.