Ninett
The idea that certain types of stress trigger a repair process wasn’t new to me—I’d read Exercised by Daniel Lieberman, which discusses how exercise acts as a stressor that prompts more repair than damage. This book went further, listing various stressors that can induce similar repair responses: exposure to uncomfortable temperatures, calorie restriction, fasting, and exercise, among others. It also dives into a fair amount of biology, which I expected from a scientist leading a Harvard lab. The content strikes a good balance—detailed enough to satisfy a fellow scientist’s need for rigour, yet clear enough for non-biologists like me to follow. I was somewhat sceptical about certain points, but the author does a good job of distinguishing between conjecture and established facts.
The idea that certain types of stress trigger a repair process wasn’t new to me—I’d read Exercised by Daniel Lieberman, which discusses how exercise acts as a stressor that prompts more repair than damage. This book went further, listing various stressors that can induce similar repair responses: exposure to uncomfortable temperatures, calorie restriction, fasting, and exercise, among others. It also dives into a fair amount of biology, which I expected from a scientist leading a Harvard lab. The content strikes a good balance—detailed enough to satisfy a fellow scientist’s need for rigour, yet clear enough for non-biologists like me to follow. I was somewhat sceptical about certain points, but the author does a good job of distinguishing between conjecture and established facts.