Evolutionary Well-Being: the paleolithic model

1. Evolutionary Well-Being: the paleolithic model Francis Heylighen Evolution, Complexity and Cognition group Vrije Universiteit Brussel

2. Well-being • What are the conditions for optimal quality-of-life? • Physical Health • Absence of diseases • Fitness • Energy, absence of fatigue • Mental Health • Absence of mental diseases (depression, dementia, …) • Intelligence, self-actualization • Happiness, subjective well-being

3. Evolutionary Well-being • Medical research constantly produces contradictory results • E.g. more or less fat or carbohydrate? • Happiness research lacks an integrated framework • Solution: evolution as integrating paradigm • During millions of years of evolution humans have adapted to a particular environment/lifestyle, the EEA • The EEA “fits” humans best • It provides the conditions for optimal well-being

4. Discord between Genes and Civilisation • Modern lifestyles are too recent for evolution to adapt to them • Large-scale adaptation takes thousands of generations • Small-scale (one gene) adaptation may be possible • E.g. lactose tolerance in Europeans • But these have little effect on overall functioning

5. History of Humanity

6. Diseases of Civilisation • Physical • Cardiovascular diseases • Obesity, diabetes, “metabolic syndrome” • Cancer • Allergies, asthma, autoimmune diseases • Mental • Depression, anxiety, chronic stress… • ADHD, autism, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, …

7. The Healthy Hunter-Gatherer • No diseases of civilisation • Death mostly from child mortality and injuries, not from chronic illness • Athletic Strength and Fitness at all Ages • Tall, robust, healthy skeletons

8. Some Evidence • Lower Total Blood Cholesterol in primitive populations versus average Americans • Low Blood Pressure in HG • Elevated insulin sensitivity in populations leading a primitive lifestyle • Lower fasting plasma insulin levels in the Horticulturalists of Kitava (Papua-New Guinea) versus Swedes • Lower Body Mass Index in Primitive Populations compared to Westerners • Lower Waist (cm)/height (m) in the Horticulturalists of Kitava (Papua-New Guinea) compared to healthy Swedes • Better visual acuity in HG versus industrialized populations. • Better bone health markers in HG fossils compared to primitive agriculturists and Western populations • Lower fracture rates in Papua- New Guinea primitive populations compared to Western populations • Very low incidence of Chronic Degenerative diseases (Metabolic Syndrome - Diabetes - Cardiovascular Diseases - Cancer - Acne - Myopia) in primitive populations

9. Aerobic Fitness

10. Subcutaneous Fat

11. The Happy Hunter-Gatherer • Affluence and Leisure • work only a few hours/day • Egalitarian society • no real hierarchy • Free, spontaneous attitude • children are hardly every punished • Lots of laughter and play • No alienation from nature

12. Development of Civilization • Reducing the risks • Hunger, predators, accidents, … • Maximizing productivity • By controlling the environment • Via increasingly sophisticated methods and technologies • → Agriculture, industry, ICT… • Result: growth in population, but decline in well-being

13. Variation vs. Regulation • Modern paradigm: regulation • Minimizing deviations from goal • Planning & optimizing • Requires strict regularity, rule-following • “Paleo” paradigm: variation • Exploration, improvisation, adaptation • Opportunism • Diversity, unpredictability

14. (Paleo) Life is an adventure • Adventure = sequence of mostly unpredictable, challenging encounters • Challenge = incitement to action • Difficult but stimulating task • Challenge Types: • Positive: exploit opportunity • Negative: evade danger

15. Challenges • Challenges stimulate the organism to develop its capacities, by releasing: • HGH → stronger muscles & bones, less fat • BDNF → more neurons, synapses, brain tissue… • Use it or Lose it! • New challenges → new skills (“What does not kill us, makes us stronger”) • Sustained challenges → sustained skills • Reduced challenges → reduced skills → even more reduced challenges … → death

16. Power Law Distribution of Challenges intensity frequency Few strong challenges Some medium challenges Many weak challenges

17. Paleo challenges • Acute stresses • intense but short • followed by long relaxation • and feeling of satisfaction • Examples • Climbing a tree for fruit • Hunting a big animal • Crossing an ice-cold river • Running from a predator

18. Modern Challenges • Far-away goals • E.g. preparing a PhD • Little feedback to stimulate motivation • Repetitive, controlled, focused work • E.g. working on a computer or in a factory all day • Little variation or diversion • Result: chronic stress • E.g. repetitive strain injury, burnout, depression, monotonous diet, lack of exercise…

19. Concrete Recommendations • To combat chronic stress and optimize well-being, we should introduce more “paleo” elements in our lifestyle • In different domains: • Diet • Movement • Exposure to natural challenges • Play and relaxation • Child care and education • …

20. Paleo Diet • Avoid what HGs did not eat: • Grains, dairy, sugar, most vegetable oils • additives, junk food • Eat what HGs ate: • Meat, Fish, Eggs… • Vegetables, Fruit, Nuts…

21. Shortcomings of Modern Diet • Too much • Carbohydrates, Omega 6 fats, Trans fats, Salt, “Antinutrients” • Too little • Proteins, Omega 3 fats, Antioxidants, Fiber, Vitamins, Minerals • About right • Total Calories (if some exercise) • Total and Saturated Fats

22. High-Glycemic Diet • Glycemic Load = • amount of glucose released in blood by eating food • Depends on amount of easily digestible carbohydrate (sugar, starch…) • High GL foods lead to • Insulin resistance → • diabetes, obesity, inflammation, cardiovascular disease…

23. Paleo Exercise • Variety of Basic Movements • Running, walking, climbing, swimming, crawling, lifting, carrying, defending, jumping, throwing, catching, balancing. • Dealing with complex challenges • Not in a gym, but preferably in nature • No exercise machines, but rocks, trees, other people, etc. • Using the whole body (and mind) • No long, repetitive exertions • E.g. jogging several hours/week, marathons, triathlon

24. Power Law for Exercise • Plenty of rest (most of the time) • Sleeping, lying, sitting… • Lots of low level (several hours/week) • Walking, cycling, swimming… • Some medium level (1-2 hours/week) • Jogging, hiking, climbing… • A little high level (20-30 min./week) • Sprinting, jumping, lifting heavy weights…

25. Contact with Nature • Experience of Nature is good for mental and physical health • Lots of empirical evidence, e.g. • Patients with view on nature recover more quickly • Less illness/social problems in neigborhoods with trees • Walks/exercise in nature improve mood and reduce stress • less ADHD in greener surroundings • Watching pictures of nature increase concentration afterwards

26. Possible Explanations • Biophilia hypothesis (E.O Wilson): • Inborn love of life/nature • Attention Restoration Theory (Kaplan) • Nature is infinitely complex, varied, fractal, extensive, surprising… • Artificial environments are simple, regular, with strong, distinct stimuli • fascination with nature lets attention mechanism relax

27. Exposure to Sunlight • produces Vitamin D in the skin • More important than previously thought • Strenghtens bones • Boosts immunity • Prevents cancer • Lack of (sun)light triggers depression • S.A.D.

28. Exposure to heat and cold • Temperature differences challenge the organism • Cold burns calories like exercise • Cold baths boost immune system • Saunas produce “heat shock proteins” that repair damage • Heat increase sweating and heart rate

29. Exposure to “Dirt” • Don’t be afraid of germs! • Hygiene hypothesis • Less allergies in less hygienic surroundings • Immune system needs to be challenged • To learn to deal with dangerous pathogens • To learn to discriminate “good” from “bad” • Symbiotic bacteria necessary for our health • Help digestion, protect skin

30. Play • Play is necessary to develop a variety of skills • Physical, perceptual, coordination, social, … • In a relaxed, free manner

31. Rest • Regular sleep • Approximately 8 hours/night • Melatonin repairs damage • Regular time for relaxation or vacation • Body needs time to repair damage and grow • Mind needs to consolidate connections • and explore new ones

32. Being in the Present • Awareness of the here and now • No worrying about future • No guilt about past • No thinking, but experiencing, feeling, sensing, perceiving • Relaxes the mind • Creates feeling of well-being

33. Hunter-Gatherer Baby Care • Breast-feeding until age of about 4 years • Almost constant touch • sleeping with parents • Carrying on the body • Lots of cuddling • Never leaving baby alone • Prompt and sensitive response to all baby’s needs • Never let baby cry

34. Child Raising • Secure Base (→self-actualization) • HG parents are caring but liberal • Child is more inclined to explore if it knows it can come back to protective parent • The older it gets, the further it explores, the more autonomous it becomes • Insecure attachment (→ neurosis) • parental care not always available • and/or no freedom to explore • → enduring anxiety and self-doubt

35. Letting Children Play • HG social environment • Small group of children of mixed age • Different adults available to emulate • But not to control • Exploration of natural objects and environments • E.g. pools, sand, animals, sticks… • Little worry about “natural” dangers • e.g. sharp objects, fire, heights…

36. Advantages of HG education • Children • more self-confident, autonomous, inventive, cheerful… • learn to empathize with others, and thus develop a sense of morals and justice • learn how nature functions: basic physics, biology, geography, … • Avoidance of modern mental problems • ADHD, autism, asocial attitudes, depression, neuroses, ….

37. Summary • Paleo paradigm = • Variety of challenges around secure base • Playful, exploratory attitude • Leads to relaxed but on-going growth • Modern paradigm= • Maximal suppression of unintended variations • Planning and control • Safer, but leads to chronic stress and degeneration

38. The present situation • Information society is more varied and liberal than industrial and agricultural society • But has kept and exacerbated bad habits: • Too little: nutrients, play, relaxation, variation, movement, nature, sunlight, touch, … • Too much: chronic, repetitive stressors • → increasing diseases of civilisation

39. What to do? • With our knowledge of the Paleo lifestyle, these shortcomings should be easy to address • resulting in a much higher quality-of-life • Health, fitness, longevity, happiness, mental clarity • Simply put • Adding varied challenges and exposures • While minimizing the danger • Keeping the Paleo model in mind to select the most healthy options