How Modern Life Makes You Sick – And How To Fix It | Jeff Krasno

Overview

This episode explores the concept of good stress and how modern life, with its chronic ease and comfort, has created evolutionary mismatches that undermine our health. Jeff Krasno, wellness entrepreneur and author of Good Stress: The Benefits of Doing Hard Things, shares practical strategies to incorporate beneficial stressors into daily life, improve well-being, and foster resilience.

Notable Quotes

- Chronic disease is really the result of chronic ease. – Jeff Krasno, on how modern comforts disrupt our biology.

- Through the right dosage of discomfort, we actually find real comfort in the end—the real middle, the real ease. – Jeff Krasno, on the paradoxical benefits of leaning into discomfort.

- Listen to understand, not to respond. – Jeff Krasno, on the art of navigating difficult conversations.

🌱 Evolutionary Mismatches and Chronic Ease

- Krasno argues that modern life has engineered away beneficial stressors, creating evolutionary mismatches that harm our health. Examples include:

- Constant feeding: Unlimited access to calorie-dense foods disrupts natural cycles of scarcity and abundance, leading to obesity and metabolic issues.

- Temperature control: Thermoregulated environments prevent adaptive responses like sweating or shivering, which are linked to resilience and longevity.

- Light pollution: Overexposure to artificial blue light disrupts circadian rhythms, impairing sleep and overall health.

- Krasno emphasizes the need to self-impose Paleolithic stressors like fasting, exposure to temperature extremes, and natural light to realign with our biology.

🔥 Practical Strategies for Good Stress

- Fasting: Krasno recommends experimenting with time-restricted eating, such as the 16:8 protocol, to balance growth and repair. He highlights its psychological benefits, like distinguishing emotional cravings from biological hunger.

- Cold and Heat Therapy:

- Cold plunges build emotional resilience and stimulate dopamine production. Krasno advises starting with mild discomfort and gradually increasing exposure.

- Sauna use improves cardiovascular health and triggers adaptive responses like heat shock proteins. Krasno combines both therapies in contrast bathing for circulatory benefits.

- Exercise: Resistance training and walking are key. Krasno advocates integrating movement throughout the day rather than compartmentalizing exercise into rigid gym sessions.

🧘 Philosophical Foundations of Well-Being

- Krasno outlines four principles that underpin his approach to health:

- Impermanence: Recognizing that change is constant empowers individuals to take agency over their health.

- Interdependence: Understanding the inseparability of self and environment fosters adaptive behaviors.

- Agency: Small, intentional actions can shift the trajectory of well-being.

- Balance: Health is found in equilibrium—between growth and repair, discomfort and ease, and even indulgence and discipline.

💬 Communication and Social Fitness

- Krasno shares insights from engaging in difficult conversations with detractors:

- Emotional regulation: Pre-game stressful interactions with techniques like meditation and breathwork.

- Active listening: Focus on understanding rather than formulating rebuttals.

- Seek connection, not solution: Find common ground to transcend conflict.

- He likens this process to building a psychological immune system through exposure to discomfort, ultimately fostering deeper human connection and resilience.