Hormesis Explained: When Stress Helps and When It Hurts

Not all stress is the same. Hormesis is the dose-response idea behind why some small, recoverable stressors may help the body adapt, while too much stress can cause harm.

In this solo episode, Dr. Hillary Lin explains hormesis through exercise, fasting, plant compounds, heat and cold exposure, cognitive challenge, and the biology of cellular stress responses. The useful question is not “is stress good?” It is: what kind of stress, at what dose, for which person, with what recovery?