I’m currently reading The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter—a book about the mental and physical benefits of deliberate exposure to discomfort. Easter makes a really good case for why some of the modern ailments like depression or obesity may be traced back to our—natural, but sadly eventually unhealthy—proclivity to seek comfort rather than exertion.
This adverse relation makes a lot of sense to me since, from experience, most things that are beneficial in the long run, usually don’t come easy (like routinely eating healthy and a consistent physical exercise regime, pursuing a degree, or learning a new language). Moreover, since we have countless options for and easy access to things that make our lives more comfortable, it becomes even more important to actively incorporate temporary discomfort into our lives.
On the March 17th episode of the Rich Roll podcast, there is an interesting testimonial to this message by Jeff Krasno who overcame obesity and being on the verge of becoming diabetic by heavily leaning into discomforts like cold exposure and fasting. The episode, therefore, also gives some weight to and underlines the message of The Comfort Crisis that temporary discomfort is something to embrace rather than to reject.
Here are the key talking points (with time stamps):
- (1:11:40) Both heat and cold therapy have very beneficial health effects (e.g. BDNF—a protein involved in creating new neurons—is increased which rejuvenates our nervous system). Sitting in a climate controlled room every day and not exposing ourselves to harsh conditions prevents us from leveraging this mechanism.
- (1:25:00) Some of the protocols that leverage discomfort for e.g. weight loss and overall physical fitness are:
- Lower carbohydrate intake (to lower glucose levels)
- Intermittent Fasting (16/8)
- Cold Water Therapy (in fasted state/with low glucose levels)
- Heat therapy (e.g. through sauna visits)
- (2:09:00) The protocols leveraging deliberate discomfort not only have an effect on physical health but also on psychological resilience.
If you want to find out more, here is the full episode on Spotify!