Aviation Advanced Crew Management Practice Exam

Stress triggers the fight-or-flight response, causing the adrenal medulla to release adrenaline, also known as epinephrine. This hormone rapidly prepares the body for action by raising heart rate and blood pressure, opening the airways, increasing blood glucose, and directing blood toward muscles. Melatonin regulates sleep-wake cycles, not the immediate stress response. Insulin manages blood glucose after meals, and testosterone is a sex hormone; neither is the quick surge seen with acute stress. Thus, adrenaline is the hormone released during stress.