HORMETIC STRESS: HARNESSING YOUR BODY’S HEALTHY STRESS RESPONSE

When we think of stress, we typically think of the chronic kind. Chronic stressors, like an unsustainable workload, poor relationships, and poor sleep can last for weeks, months, or years. Over time, this has a negative impact on our health.

But hormetic stress, or hormesis, is a controlled, acute stress that can trigger a healthy adaptive response, also known as xenohormesis. Think of it as the good kind of stress. And you can engage in activities that bring on hormesis for a range of benefits, such as a stronger immune system, lowered visceral fat, and to lessen the mental and physical impacts of chronic stress.

One thing to keep in mind about hormetic stressors: just as with fasting, there is a dose response curve. At low doses these activities are good for you, but going all out can be harmful.

So how do we add some healthy stress into our lives to reap the benefits?

High intensity interval training (HIIT)

If you’ve done Crossfit, you’ve probably heard of or done a HIIT workout. High-intensity workouts are brief, but powerful: think all-out effort for about 30 seconds followed by 15 seconds of rest. This is one of the most efficient ways to experience hormesis. During the intense exercise your muscles are briefly starved of oxygen, which will stimulate the production of mitochondria. (Mitochondria are found in all of our cells and are responsible for converting the air we breathe and the food we eat into energy, among many other necessary functions. We lose mitochondrial activity as a normal part of aging.)

Keep your workouts balanced by alternating them with restorative workouts, such as yoga.

Breathwork

Breathing mindfully and deliberately is an accessible way to reduce stress and deliver oxygen to your bloodstream. Try the Box Breathing exercise: inhale though your nose for four seconds, hold it for four seconds, then exhale for four seconds, and finally hold the exhalation for four seconds. Holding your breath for a few seconds (never until you feel faint) may improve lung capacity.

Heat or cold exposure

There’s some evidence that sauna use may help reduce all-cause mortality risk, and that periodic heat exposure may help strengthen the immune system and promote longevity.

Regular cold exposure—such as time outdoors in winter or a cold shower—has been shown to boost levels of some immune cells. Both heat and cold exposure have been associated with mitochondrial biogenesis (which helps our muscles uptake more glucose).

Eat the rainbow

Vegetables, not candy! Even phytonutrient-rich plant foods can activate your healthy hormetic stress response. Some xenohormetic nutrients include curcumin, found in turmeric, resveratrol from berries and wine, allicin from garlic, and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) from green tea.

And stress can be good for vegetables, too. Typically, plants exposed to more stress in their environment will produce the highest levels of these beneficial compounds. That means organically grown, or even vegetables that you grow in your own backyard, where plants aren’t given consistent, ideal growing conditions. Plants under stress add extra color to their leaves and fruits. So a good general rule: Look for bright colors.

Engage in mentally stimulating activities

Learning new skills, engaging in demanding mental work, and having a lot on your plate can also constitute hormetic stress. We often equate psychological or mental challenges with chronic stress, but these activities may generate brain-derived neurotrophic factor which promotes neuroplasticity. There’s one big caveat, though—in order for you to reap the benefits from psychological stress, you need to feel like the stressor is manageable and that you’re in control. If you feel helpless, the stressor can become toxic.

Fasting

Fasting puts your body into a perceived state of stress due to temporary nutrient deprivation. Fasting inhibits a cellular process called mTOR and trigger a cellular clean up called autophagy and that may contribute to better cellular health and longevity. If you are new to fasting start out by doing time restricted feeding (read more about how to get started fasting here). Some of our community fast members have worked up to fasts of five days (which is the longest fast we recommend, in order to maintain your metabolism and lean muscle mass). It’s doable if you work up to it and lean into your body’s natural hormetic stress response!

Find details for our upcoming monthly community fasts here. We encourage you to participate no matter what style of fasting you are doing. People join us when they are starting to use time restricted feeding all the way up to a water fast. It is a great way to be a part of the community and get support along the way.