Hormesis: the right dose makes you stronger

Your body is made to adapt. When you make an effort, such as walking fast or climbing stairs, you get a little tired; if you then rest well, you recover and end up stronger than before. This is called hormesis: the right dose of a stimulus triggers responses that increase your ability to adapt.

The benefit depends on three things: the dose, the context and recovery. Too little stimulus brings no change. Too much, or without rest, can lead to injury or exhaustion. So hormesis does not mean that any stress is healthy.

An ancient biology in a new world

For most of human history, getting food meant moving, food was not always available, daylight and darkness set the pace for activity and rest, and threats were intense but short-lived.

Today we can sit for hours, eat at any time, stretch the day with artificial light and stay connected almost all the time. Modern life is not the problem in itself; the problem is when this happens every day, with no breaks to recover. Over the years, in some people it can lead to insulin resistance, fat around the belly and in the liver, changes in blood sugar and triglycerides, high blood pressure and poor sleep.

The four pillars of HORMESIS

1. Food and metabolic flexibility: what you eat, how much, when, and your relationship with food.
2. Movement and functional reserve: moving during the day, building strength and aerobic fitness, and sitting less. The goal is not only to burn calories but to build capacity.
3. Sleep, rhythms and recovery: getting enough sleep, at regular times, with light during the day and darkness at night.
4. Emotional regulation and purpose: breathing, psychological support and tools to respond to stress more calmly.

The pillars affect each other. Too little sleep increases hunger and makes it harder to recover after exercise; stress that does not go away disrupts sleep; and when we stay still for long periods, our muscles become less able to use sugar and fat from the blood. That is why they are worked on together.

Eat, then move

Muscle is one of the organs that does the most to manage blood sugar: when it contracts, it uses that sugar for energy. If your doctor says it is fine, a short, gentle walk after a main meal, at a pace where you can still talk, is a small dose of movement that helps your metabolism. If you have limitations, the team will give you adapted alternatives.

Losing weight by losing muscle is not a good result. That is why the program looks after your strength and muscle mass.

Learn to respond to stress

The goal is not to get rid of all stress but to avoid staying “switched on” all the time. HORMESIS uses eight steps that you practice during the program:

1. Pause: stop the automatic reaction.
2. Breathe: use your breath to calm your body.
3. Sort out: what depends on you and what does not.
4. Describe: separate what happened from the story you are telling yourself about it.
5. Reframe: look for a more balanced and useful way to see it.
6. Choose: a response that fits your values.
7. Act: turn the intention into action.
8. Let go: stop dwelling on what is done.

Your first week

You don’t have to change everything on day one. While you complete your assessment, start by noticing:

• How many times a day you eat or drink something with calories.
• How long you sit without getting up.
• What time you go to sleep and what time you wake up.
• Which situations set off automatic stress reactions.

And if your doctor says it is fine, move a little after a main meal.

Important: do not start any fast or suddenly change your exercise or your medicines without your health team telling you to. What works for one person may be unnecessary, or even unsafe, for another.

Measure before recommending

Two people with the same weight can have very different amounts of belly fat, muscle and physical fitness. That is why HORMESIS starts by measuring, depending on your case: body composition, waist, blood pressure, blood tests, strength, fitness, sleep and habits. With this information, the team builds a plan for you and compares your progress with your own starting point, not with other people’s.

Learn about the HORMESIS program.