A systems view of biological health

Section 2: Theory

10 : Adaptation, adapted-ness and adaptive capacity

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We are born with a vast but nevertheless finite amount of adaptive capacity. More adaptation means less remaining adaptive capacity.

Life has survived innumerable emergencies in its evolutionary past. Emergencies large and small are a normal part of a life that is never 100% risk-free. But they usually don’t last very long, and there are well-devised and simple workaday pathways to enter emergency response states (both physiology and mental-sensory-attentive states) and to then de-escalate and fully return to a "safe-enough" normality. If we can understand and use our human body-mind according to ancient "rules" by which these emergency adaptations re-normalise, then the body, physiology and mind – everything – will always be running at an optimum and will be the most healthy it can be given the immediate circumstances.

To re-frame this slightly, an adapt-ed body-mind has already used up some of its adaptive capacity and so is less adapt-able, and probably also less resilient. The same physiological resources are used for everything, and the same physiological adaptive mechanisms are re-purposed for all adaptations. So Health can be defined as a state of minimum adaptation and minimum energy usage [1] (given the specific combination of adaptive demands being met), therefore equating to

• maximum availability of supportive resources
• maximum availability of adaptive resources, and
• optimum calibration to "reality" so as to only and bestmeet immediate and present adaptive demands.

Things that demand more adaptedness include stress, danger, being too hot or too cold, being hungry or thirsty, infections, exertion, loss (particularly including loss of companionship and the support it provides). Things that reduce adaptedness (and increase adaptability) include a sense of love, safety, sufficiency, play, community/companionship/support, times of awe or feelings of connection to something greater (if only the landscape), feelings of self-worth. Exploration and skilled effort sit in an interesting place in the middle of these two.