Why does the body need movement?

The physical and mental abilities of modern humans and their ancestors evolved over several million years. Purchasing food energy has always been possible only through physical activity until very recently. This applies to purchasing food for earlier people through gathering or hunting, but also to the more lucrative work until the middle of the last century. Only in the past few decades have living conditions changed dramatically, especially in industrialized countries. On the one hand there is a wide variety of food, on the other hand life can be managed without much physical effort.

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However, our genome is still designed for a certain level of physical activity. Only when a certain amount of energy is regularly converted through movement, the genes and the organism function properly and the body's performance is maintained. People's daily natural energy circulation corresponds to a walking distance of about 20 to 25 kilometers, which can be performed at a speed of 4 to 5 km/h. This corresponds to four to six hours of moderate exercise. So: physical activity is normal, there is no unhealthy movement.

Movement is in our genes

It has always been necessary for survival to be able to quickly react to the environment: for example, to escape with lightning speed in case of danger, to defend oneself or to maintain normal body temperature in cold or heat.

The biological program of adaptation necessary for survival to perform with the environment is millions of millions of years old: the stress reaction, as is the scientific name of this process, still occurs today in the body of people and other higher beings.

Biological stress is a disruption of the resting state during deep sleep. With stress, the body naturally reacts to certain stimuli - an inevitable fact that makes life itself and in itself have no harmful meaning. Stress is defined as some influence (stimulus) from the environment on an organism that triggers a stress reaction. Examples of stressors are physical stimuli (such as heat, cold, noise, visual impressions) or chemical stimuli (smell and taste). People react to these stimuli - consciously or unconsciously - through physical and mental activity.

Movement uses energy

The body needs energy for basic functions such as heartbeat, breathing, circulation, digestion, brain activity or metabolism. In the normal state, the energy balance is in what is called “internal equilibrium”. However, we are constantly reacting - consciously or unconsciously - to stimuli from the environment. We are active. This leads to higher energy consumption. The body adapts to a new "internal balance".
Only this biological stress response program enables the body to provide additional energy - and based on need - to perform at different levels.