Don’t worry, you don’t have to go on a multiday fast or start doing cryotherapy. There are a bunch of small, sustainable habit changes that can help you reap the benefits of hormesis:

You can also apply this strategy to all areas of your life.  Short consentrated micro bursts and more productive and have a better outcome than too much for too long. With that said here are some ways to incorporate Hormesis.

Start slowly if you haven’t worked out in a while.. and if you push it in the gym 5-6 days a week you might want to slow down and add balance and alternate with Yoga.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT)—characterized by intermittent bursts of all-out effort for about 30 seconds followed by 15 seconds of rest—is one of the most efficient ways to experience hormesis. During these intense bursts, your muscles are briefly starved for oxygen (hypoxia), which stimulates the production of mitochondria. Any exercise that challenges you, whether it’s an intense spin class or a boxing workout, is also a good choice once or twice a week however you then need to keep yourself balanced by alternating them with slower, restorative workouts like yoga.

While we need more research to flesh out the perks, holding your breath for as long as is comfortable from time to time may be a good way to experience intermittent hypoxia and improve lung capacity, says Rountree. You can do this when you’re sitting at your desk or lying in bed. For a more subtle approach, you can try box breathing, which involves inhaling through your nose for four seconds, holding it for four seconds, exhaling through your mouth for four seconds, then holding the exhalation for another four seconds.

Get out of your temperature comfort zone.

Ice baths, cold showers, or even spending time outside when it’s cold for short periods can also be beneficial, too. Regular short periods of cold exposure has been shown to boost levels of certain immune cells, including cytotoxic T-cells, which play a role in killing virally infected cells and cancer cells.  Both heat and cold exposure have also been associated with mitochondrial biogenesis.

Even phytonutrient-rich plant foods can activate your healthy hormetic stress response—the term for this is xenohormesis. The glucosinolates in broccoli sprouts, for example, activate beneficial phase II detoxification pathways in the Liver and clear excess estrogens and therefore balancing hormones. Other nutrients include curcumin from turmeric, resveratrol from berries and wine, allicin from garlic, quercetin from a variety of fruits and vegetables, and  green tea, says  A good general rule: Look for bright colors.  The supplements I like for support are  Cruciferous Complete, Boswellia Complex and Livco.  To purchase

Intermittent fasting puts your body into a perceived state of stress due to temporary nutrient deprivation. Fasting inhibits a cellular process called mTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin), thus triggering a cellular cleanup process known as autophagy, which may contribute to better cellular health and longevity. The type of fasting you choose depends on a variety of factors, but you don’t necessarily have to do anything too intense to reap the benefits.

Consider confining your eating to an eight- or 10-hour window.  How long you fast and how break your fast is important. Aim for a savory start to your day to keep blood sugar balance. If you are experiencing the ” shimmy shakes” then you have fasted for too long and you are experiencing hypoglycemia and you have moved out of Hormesis and into overload.

Learning new skills, engaging in something new can stimulate some of the same cellular pathways mentioned above—and even generate brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), 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 becomes toxic.

Ladies: consider taking it easy the week before your period, too. This is when your estrogen levels experience a steep drop, which leads to cortisol sensitivity (our stress hormone)—so your body is much more susceptible to the effects of additional stressors. This is healthy eating, yoga and breathwork time not HITT time.

Take away on Hormesis

This is the time of the year when we need to take inventory of where we are and what we want moving forward.  To do that we have to make space for it.  Sometimes we need to do less and make the things we do more concentrated by using the power of Hormesis.

This also the time of the year when nature sheds and slows to make room for new growth. Nature is always providing us with lessons… As you prepare for the Holiday season ask where can you slow and nourish so you do not always spend your time in recovery mode.

Have a healthy week and I am always here to serve.