Dr. Steve Anton

Stressful situations and conditions are something we all experience, no matter our stage in life. The world we live in is constantly changing; thus, our ability to adapt to these changes is critical to our long-term well survival and well-being. For this reason, a key question is how do we become more resilient and stronger human beings who are capable of adapting to life’s constant challenges. The thesis of this talk is that we become healthier humans by exposing ourselves to small amounts of stress on a temporary basis. There are many examples of temporary challenges, such as exercise, intermittent fasting, or taking a sauna, being good for you. This describes the biological phenomenon of ‘hormesis’ which is the process our cells use to adapt to temporary stressors and become stronger. It’s true that being in a chronically stressed out state is not healthy and has been linked to many diseases and accelerated aging. However, stress in and of itself is not harmful. Rather, the latest research reveals that our bodies and minds need small to moderate amounts of temporary stress on a frequent basis in order to become more resilient and ‘anti-fragile.’ There are multiple aspects of our lifestyle can elicit the process of hormesis in our cells. This talk will cover some of the key lifestyle changes that recent research has found can improve cellular health and ultimately promote healthy aging through the process of hormesis.