Weekly blog

Apr 24

Adaptation is one of the cornerstones of biology. Although challenging, tiring, and often frustrating, those who successfully adapt and change have better odds of keeping up with the world's evolving demands. The idea has a strong foundation of structural evidence - the lengthening of the giraffe's neck over generations of natural selection is a classic example - however, modern life has introduced a time compression problem that adds significant complexity. Simply put, fundamental changes are happening in decades instead of millennia, and many signs suggest our health and quality of life are suffering as a result of not keeping pace.

Our all-or-nothing stress response is a commonly cited example. "Fight, flight, or freeze" is almost definitely better suited for the laws of the jungle than for the simmering stress of the modern world. This may partly explain why hypertension remains a major and puzzling problem in the US, affecting nearly half of adults. Of course, this is not the only adaptation curve we appear to be falling behind. Super convenient food delivery apps may have made this top-ten inventions list from the last 30 years, but as the energy required to hunt, gather, forage, and farm has given way to scroll and click, the problem of sedentary diseases has worsened - a risk identified at least 5 years ago. Unfortunately, the unintended consequences (aka second-order effects) of modern life don't end there.

Modern food production methods continue to pose a significant risk. The upside of tasty, long-lasting, and relatively inexpensive food sounds great; however, as the growing case against a high intake of ultra-processed food, which now includes a heavy toll on the behavioral and emotional health of children as young as five, continues to emerge, the cost overshadows the benefit. Sadly, the risks aren't limited to what happens after the food is picked. Research presented at the American Association for Cancer Research last week suggests that pesticide use is a serious problem, even, and perhaps especially, for healthy eaters. A University of Southern California team suggests that modern farming methods, which include heavy pesticide use, may explain higher lung cancer rates in young, non-smokers who consume higher quantities of fruits and vegetables, as well as in the agricultural workers who handle them. 

How we CONNECT is also increasingly under scrutiny. The 2026 edition of the World Happiness Report confirms what many of us suspect: social media use, especially the passive scrolling apps heavily favored in Western Europe and North America, significantly drags on well-being. Unfortunately, other research suggests the impact doesn't end there. Device use in classrooms was linked to poorer cognitive control in adolescents earlier this month, and an extensive report last year from MIT showed that as reliance on artificial intelligence for writing increased, brain connectivity "scaled down". From a health and quality of life perspective, things may be just a little too convenient.

So what is the antidote?

At the risk of sounding like a podcast sound bite, the answer, when properly dosed, may in fact be to find challenges, do hard things, get out of our comfort zone, and, as the more crude version of the same platitude suggests, "embrace the suck". A randomized controlled trial from a team in Brazil published in February showed that inducing a healthy dose of discomfort through brief, intense exercise (a concept known as "interoceptive exposure") was more effective than a tried-and-true relaxation technique for individuals with panic disorder. Similarly, adding controlled doses of stress and pressure has shown promising results in youth athletes. This approach has also recently been advocated for in medical training to ready care staff for environments that can rapidly deteriorate.

Far more study is needed to draw a firm conclusion on this topic, but one thing seems certain: not all adaptation is positive. If the conveniences of life are dulling your edge, it's a great time of year to find an adventure that MOVES you in the direction of your limits. We're built for it.

Have a great weekend,
Mike E.