Name Hormetic stress.
Appearance. You know what stress is like – aches and pains, exhaustion. Also anxiety, restlessness, feeling overwhelmed or unfocused.
I am feeling quite stressed, as it happens. Hardly surprising, given what’s going on in the world right now. Not to mention two years of a global pandemic, which seems to be on the up again.
So what shall I do about it? Have a cold shower.
Seriously? Or a hot sauna.
Well, which? They would appear to be kind of opposites. That’s the thing: either works. A growing body of research indicates that exposing yourself to short bursts of pressure, known as hormetic stress, can help you – physically, mentally and emotionally – to get through difficult times.
Treating stress with stress? Exactly that.
Any other ways of getting stressed, hormetically? Hiit is probably the best known.
Isn’t that for the menopause? I think you’re thinking of HRT. Hiit is high-intensity interval training – you know, short periods of intensive anaerobic exercise with brief recovery periods. Other, more controversial ways of achieving hormetic stress include fasting and hypoxic breathing, which deprives the body of oxygen …
No, thanks, I think I’ll stick to a nice hot sauna. Or a dip in a freezing lake. Wim Hof swears by it.
Wim Hof? Dutch fella, known as the Iceman …
… Cometh? Already come. Hof, known for his ability to withstand freezing temperatures, has developed the WHM …
World Health … Wim Hof Method, which uses a combination of cold exposure, yoga and breathing techniques. He’s got millions of followers, including Justin Bieber, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Cruise …
The Scientologist. What about actual scientists and science, though – is there anything in it? A reduced inflammatory response has been documented. Hof’s other claims aren’t scientifically proven. But Elissa Epel found his breathing methods lowered her stress threshold.
Elissa Epel? A professor in the psychiatry department of the University of California, where she is leading a study into hormetic stress. Prof Epel got Hof to teach his breathing technique – which involves a lot of deep breaths followed by a long exhale, then an additional held breath – to healthcare providers during the pandemic. “The practices create short-term spikes of biological stress followed by recovery, ease and deep restoration, and that is otherwise hard to get,” she says.
Sold on “deep restoration” (takes a deep breath, exhales, then another …). Just a word of warning: Hof’s own website warns that it can cause light-headedness, even loss of consciousness, and you shouldn’t try it if you have certain conditions or are pregnant.
Do say: “Fuel bill crisis? What fuel bill crisis? Turn the heating off to generate some hormetic stress; happy days.”
Don’t say: “Oh, go and jump in that icy lake, Hof.” (He’s probably in it already.)
