Hormesis
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Hormesis is a characteristic of many biological processes... whereby biological response to low exposures to toxins and other stressors is generally favorable. In other words, a small amount of bad and painful stuff (exercise/starvation/hot/cold/certain-drugs) has benefits. This has been scientifically shown to apply to:
- Exercise / Strength Training ** - None is bad, a few hours is fantastic - your muscles will grow (break and mend), too much is bad.
- Fasting ** - The slight stress of occasional fasting helps make your cells more efficient at a cellular level. It's good for you.
- Extreme Temperature * - A quick cold plunge or sauna has health benefits, but don't stay immersed for hours.
- Immunity - Exposure to some virus etc helps build immunity... too much will kill you though.
- UV Light - Just 5-15 minutes of casual sun exposure helps keep your vitamin D levels high. Sun boosts your mood, but too much and you get sunburnt.
- Alcohol - Some believe a tiny amount (10g - just a sip) of alcohol a day can add to your lifespan - too much is bad.
- Nutrients - Certain nutrients in spinach and other foods are good in small doses, but almost toxic in huge doses.
Screenshot from an excellent Hormesis video.
The old saying, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" has much truth. Science has revealed that (at least in some situations) it's surprisingly accurate, even down to the cellular level.
Some more abstract concepts:
- Stress - A little amount of work stress might help you be more productive, non stress may eventually just make you lazy, and too much will affect your health.
- Life Hardship - A certain amount of life challenges can build character, resolve and determination.
- Heartbreak - The heart is also a muscle, and resilience can come after the pain heartbreak if you move through it. Just don't go into the pattern of suffering from it. Pain is a fact of life, suffering is a choice.
- Microdosing * - Doing a shit-tonne of LSD or any psychedelic is terrible, but in small doses there is growing research that shows it can help people with mood and creativity. I would still say don't play with it just for the sake of it - you don't want a dependency.
I guess life really is all about balance. Trying to achieve balance in hormesis is apparently also known as microstressing!
Videos
Hormesis What Is Hormesis & How It Works? – Dr.Berg - Incredible video.
