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At first glance, it may seem absurd, stupid, or even masochistic to voluntarily expose oneself to the 3 F (Cold, Hunger, Fatigue) when humanity has spent most of its time protecting itself from them. In any case, it is clear that while technology allows us today to live without ‘facing’ the 3 F, this is not a guarantee of health. Rather, it would be the opposite, as explained by Daniel Lieberman, professor of evolutionary human biology at Harvard, in his bestseller: The Story of the Human Body.
The growing mismatch between our genetics and our lifestyle
With the acceleration of innovation, especially since the advent of agriculture, we have developed or adopted an ever-growing list of new cultural practices that have had contradictory effects on our bodies. On one hand, many relatively recent developments have been beneficial: agriculture has increased food resources; sanitation, modern health systems, and scientific medicine have reduced infant mortality and increased longevity. On the other hand, many cultural changes have altered the interactions between our genes and our environment, to the extent that they have contributed to a wide range of health problems. These pathologies are mismatch diseases, defined as diseases resulting from the fact that our Paleolithic body is poorly or insufficiently adapted to certain modern behaviors and conditions.
Whether it is sedentariness, the comfort of our homes, lack of physical activity, or our denatured diet, humanity is experiencing an unprecedented gap between its biological nature inherited from evolution and its artificial daily life that leads to both physical and psychological dysfunctions.
The presumed mismatch diseases include: Alzheimer’s disease, cancers, dental caries, depression, diabetes, fibromyalgia, hypertension, Crohn’s disease, insomnia, low back pain, myopia, osteoporosis, flat feet, psychoneurosis, multiple sclerosis, carpal tunnel syndrome, and many others.
A good stress is necessary
To build and maintain good health, the human body needs to interact with its environment or risk deteriorating. For there is a universal principle of energy economy: anything that is not used degrades or disappears. Hence the interest in submitting to stimuli that strengthen our innate adaptive capacities, this is the principle of hormesis.
“The ability of bodies to adjust their observable characteristics (their phenotype) in response to environmental constraints is called phenotypic plasticity. All organisms need phenotypic plasticity to function, and the more biologists expand their research, the more new examples they discover. […] Relying on these interactions with the environment, however, has drawbacks that can potentially lead to mismatches when critical environmental signals are absent, attenuated, or aberrant.” Daniel Lieberman in “The Story of the Human Body”
The adaptation phenomena to Fatigue, Hunger, and Cold have shaped our biology over millions of years, to the extent that they have become the guarantors of our good physical and mental health. This is why, it is important to artificially recreate these stresses in our daily lives in order to align with our biological needs that are no longer naturally met in our modern environment.
“In summary, we have truly evolved to use certain traits, or risk losing them. As the human body is not a product of engineering but grows and evolves, your body anticipates and even requires certain constraints during your growth in order to develop properly.” […] Equally important interactions characterize other systems that actively interact with the outside world, such as your immune system and the organs that help you, for example, digest food or maintain a stable body temperature.” Daniel Lieberman in “The Story of the Human Body”
Towards a change in customs
Thanks, in particular, to Pierre de Coubertin, sports activity has entered the school system and more generally into customs. No one now questions the benefits, or even the pleasure that can be derived from it. However, there is nothing natural, for example, about going for a run. What is natural is to rest as much as possible when one has the opportunity. But our society now recognizes the necessity of voluntarily fatiguing oneself in an environment where opportunities for physical exertion are rare. This awareness will also come with Hunger and Cold; it is only a matter of time…
Beyond these down-to-earth considerations, what I find beautiful about the 3 F is that seemingly hostile elements like cold, hunger, or fatigue can have so many positive effects on our health and well-being. This paradigm shift occurs when one takes the time to listen to their body and feel. There is, I believe, a spiritual message here: Life is so well made that even cold, hunger, and fatigue want good for us…Do not forget that the only thing we can lose is our illusions. It is these that make us suffer, not the vicissitudes…
5 types of hormetic exposures
Hormesis through physical activity
Hormesis through physical activity consists of exposing the body to different forms of stress by practicing resistance exercises, brief but intense exercises, or intermittent efforts. They cause: thermal stress, metabolic stress, hypoxic stress, mechanical stress, and oxidative stress.
The goal here is to challenge the body in order to increase the level of oxidative stress in the muscle. A stress against which we generally fight to delay aging, but which is vital for muscular adaptation during exercise.
To learn more: Read this article on the benefits of hormesis through physical activity.
Hormesis through cold
Its purpose is to enhance the body’s resistance to stress caused by cold. This is to no longer suffer this element as an enemy, both physically and mentally, but to perceive and use it as a true ally of health.
The stimulus consists of exposing one’s body to a cold environment (generally water or air), even icy, in order to provoke a marked decrease (but within physiological possibilities and outside of severe hypothermia) in body temperature. In response, the organism in a stress situation will develop a set of physiological adaptation reactions to maintain an adequate internal temperature.
Regular exposure to cold also brings numerous health benefits, including better cold resistance, weight loss, optimization of the immune system, endurance and recovery speed, vitality, stress resistance, and prevention of certain pathologies such as diabetes, depression, etc.
Contrary to what one might think, exposing oneself to cold allows one to better withstand heat. Indeed, exposure to cold improves blood circulation as well as the vasodilation of blood vessels. The body is thus better able to effectively dissipate excess heat.
To learn more: Read this article on the benefits of hormesis through cold.
Hormesis through heat
Hormesis through heat will challenge the body’s ability to withstand temperatures far higher than the average of 37° C. Unlike ice baths, the goal here is to expose the body to an environment with a high level of heat in order to provoke an intense increase in body temperature. This stimulus will naturally lead to: A decrease in thermogenesis and metabolism.
- Vasodilation in the arms, legs, and skin.
- Vasoconstriction in the core to direct blood to the outer areas and dissipate heat.
- A decrease in heart rate and an increase in plasma count to promote blood flow to the extremities.
- The activation of sweat glands which will promote sweating, or the dissipation of heat through evaporation.
Hormesis through heat also brings various health benefits: heat resistance, stimulation of growth hormones, increase and protection of muscle mass, elimination of toxins in the body, reduction of stress, prevention of certain diseases such as fatigue, depression, or type 2 diabetes.
Hormesis through fasting
Hormesis through fasting involves caloric restriction causing significant biological stress leading to the transformation of fat cells into ketone bodies.
Fasting is a universal healing method recognized for millennia but fallen into oblivion, just like its benefits:
- Lymphatic cleansing.
- Elimination of toxins.
- Cell renewal and autolysis (destruction of old, dysfunctional, or damaged cells).
- Repair and restructuring of DNA.
- Prevention of aging through the secretion of enzymes that reduce oxidative stress.
On an emotional level, what is repressed partially surfaces like the toxins in the body. On a mental level, mental conditioning has less hold, allowing better access to the Self. And on a spiritual level, intuitions are stronger and clearer, helping to become aware of a need, to take certain directions for the future, or to make important choices.
To learn more: Read this article on the benefits of hormesis through fasting.
Hormesis through hypoxia
Hormesis through hypoxia involves performing breathing exercises that include apneas, which will activate a molecular pathway controlled by the HIF-1 (Hypoxia-Inducible Factor). Research has shown (Nobel Prize in Medicine 2019) that hypoxia:
- stimulates the production of EPO, thus the formation of red blood cells,
- promotes angiogenesis (creation of new blood vessels),
- increases the efficiency of cells to use oxygen,
- helps tissues adapt to a low-oxygen environment.
