We often confuse our dormant mode with needing more rest. The body will accept a rest break but if not followed by stimulation (random good or bad stress or combination thereof) it will automatically default to dormancy. Yes it’s just like a screen saver mode. It’s an ancient evolutionary trait to help preserve energy.

For countless generations humans would be attacked by random stress at every turn. Cold, heat, lack of food etc were all wildly unpredictable. Conditions were not under our control and as a result the human body developed adaptive mechanisms. This means when offered an odd extra moment to rest and repair we would take advantage with dormant mode. This allowed us to be better prepared for the next random stress situation. Just like storing body fat this extra down time was rare but money in the bank when we could get it.

The modern problem is very similar to hunger. Low energy and low blood sugar make you feel as though you need nutrients. In actuality you are just craving to have glycogen (human body sugar) in your system. You mistake real hunger for craving. When you’re out of shape (lost strength of youth) you get cravings and go dormant more and more often. It’s a preservation function but only designed to work short term. Over time it makes you overweight and less able to be in stimulation mode. The cycle repeats at an increasing pace. You begin to avoid coming out of dormant mode and thus further reduce your ability to function.

The answer of course is strength. Forced strength training is the forced stress stimulation which then leads to a real need for real nutrients. These real nutrients then repair and strengthen the body making it more possible to do the same in the near future. Basically you are either decomposing or maintaining your composure, In fact we could have named this blog post “maintaining your composure”.

You can enjoy the benefits of your ancestors adaptive ability or you can suffer from ignoring it. We can all complain about modern life but at least we have a choice.

Be well, be strong,

Andrew and Tierney.