The Impact of Ultra-Processed Sugar Intake on Behaviour in Young People

Introduction

In the day-to-day running of schools, homes, sports clubs, and community settings, parents and professionals frequently observe severe swings in behavior, group dynamics, sudden emotional outbursts, hyperactivity, and rapid crashes in engagement. While these behaviors are often framed purely as social or psychological challenges, physiological observation suggests another perspective and direct cause that we need to manage: the unregulated, acute, high-volume consumption of refined sugar.

In addition to their normal intake, it is common that young people aged 7 to 18 routinely consume upwards of 100 grams of processed sugar within a 30-to-60-minute window when attending social events or being ‘treated’ . This sugar—typically in the form of energy drinks, fizzy drinks, sweets, and ultra-processed bakery items—is consumed rapidly. To understand the scale of this physiological event, we can compare it against established health baselines, evaluate it through an evolutionary lens, and examine its systemic impact on the juvenile brain and body.

1. Recommended Allowance

Public health authorities distinguish strictly between naturally occurring sugars bound within intact cellular matrices (such as whole fruit and plain dairy) and "free sugars." Free sugars encompass all monosaccharides and disaccharides added to foods and beverages by manufacturers, cooks, or consumers, alongside sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, and unsweetened fruit juices (World Health Organization [WHO], 2015).

According to the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN, 2015) guidelines adopted by the NHS, the recommended maximum daily intake of free sugars is structured by age:

• Children aged 7 to 10: Maximum 24g per day (~6 teaspoons).

• Youth aged 11 to 18: Maximum 30g per day (~7 teaspoons).

The consumption of 100 grams of refined sugar in less than an hour equates to roughly 25 teaspoons of pure sugar. Young people are thus consuming 300% to 400% of their maximum daily allowance in a single drop-in window.

Crucially, this 100-gram intake does not include a metabolic vacuum. Because clubs and social events typically operate in the late afternoon and early evening, this influx represents a culmination of a day-long consumption of other ultra-processed foods (UPFs) in addition to non UPF’s for some. A day-in-the-life for some young people can include:

1. Breakfast (07:30): High-sugar cereal or breakfast pastry with fruit juice (~25–30g).

2. Mid-Morning (10:30): Convenience snack or canteen bakery item (~15–20g).

3. Lunch (12:30): Processed meal with a sweetened beverage (~25–30g).

4. After-School Transit (15:30): Confectionery purchased en route home (~15–20g).

5. Youth Session (17:00): 100g acute intake.

By the time young people step through the door of a club, their total daily intake of free sugars often exceeds 180 to 200 grams—roughly six times the upper safe limit. They are arriving in a state of pre-existing metabolic shock, having already cycled through multiple insulin and stress-hormone spikes earlier in the day.

2. The Evolutionary Mismatch

To understand why a 100-gram sugar delivery inflicts such extreme biological stress, we can look to our evolutionary history. The Evolutionary Mismatch Hypothesis posits that human physiology remains adapted to environmental conditions present during the Paleolithic era, leaving our biology ill-equipped for modern environments of hyper-palatable, highly refined food abundance (Eaton & Konner, 1985; Cordain et al., 2005).

                     EVOLUTIONARY DELIVERY MATRIX
┌───────────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┐
│     ANCESTRAL SUGAR DELIVERY      │     MODERN REFINED DELIVERY       │
├───────────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────────┤
│ • Bound in structural plant fiber │ • Extracted, purified, liquid     │
│ • Slower gastric emptying         │ • Instant gut absorption          │
│ • Accompanied by micro-nutrients  │ • Empty calories, zero fiber      │
│ • Rare, seasonal, energy-intensive│ • Continuous, cheap abundance     │
└───────────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────────┘

Ancestral Carbohydrate Intake

While ancient diets contained simple sugars, their physical structure and availability were fundamentally different from modern foods:

• Fiber-Matrix Buffering: Carbohydrates consumed by ancestral hominins derived primarily from uncultivated wild plants, fibrous tubers, and seasonal berries (Eaton & Konner, 1985). The glucose and fructose molecules were encased in cellular fiber walls, slowing digestion and enforcing a gradual uptake into the bloodstream.

• Honey as a Seasonal Rarity: While equatorial hunter-gatherers like the Hadza actively target wild honey—which can form a significant seasonal component of calorie intake (Pontzer et al., 2012; Wood et al., 2014)—accessing it historically required immense physical exertion, risk, and seasonal availability. It was never an effortless, daily, liquid dose.

• Zero Refined Processing: Refined sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup are modern industrial inventions. Our ancestors had no biological exposure to free, isolated sugars stripped of fiber, protein, and micronutrients.

Because sweet tastes signaled non-toxic, energy-dense calories in an environment of scarcity, humans evolved an instinctual drive to consume sugar whenever available (Lustig, 2013). Modern food manufacturing exploits this ancient evolutionary mechanism by engineering energy-dense products that bypass natural appetite-regulation pathways.

3. Neurobiological & Behavioral Effects of Overstimulation.

When 100 grams of refined sugar enters an empty stomach, it bypasses normal digestive rate-limiting steps and rapidly enters the bloodstream, acting less like a nutrient and more like an acute pharmacological agent.

The Dopamine Reward Loop

1. Mesolimbic Pathway Activation: Sugars stimulate taste receptors that send immediate neural signals to the nucleus accumbens—the primary reward center of the brain—triggering a surge of dopamine (Volkow et al., 2013).

2. Receptor Downregulation: Because ultra-processed sugars deliver a dopamine hit far more potent than whole foods, frequent high-volume consumption causes the brain to downregulate its D2 dopamine receptors to protect against overstimulation (Avena et al., 2008).

3. The Craving Cycle: Over time, young people develop tolerance. They require larger and more immediate hits of refined sugar simply to reach baseline states of focus or emotional regulation. When arriving at a club late in the afternoon in a low-dopamine, fatigued state, they compulsively seek high-sugar items to re-stimulate this pathway.

The Endocrinological Behavioral Impact

The physiological sequence following a 100g sugar intake in a short period significantly affects the emotional state and outward behavioral profile of a young person over a typical two-hour session:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                       PHASE 1: HYPERGLYCEMIA (0–30 MINS)                    │
│ Blood Glucose Surge ──► High Arousal, Restlessness, Reduced Impulse Control  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                       │
                                       ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                       PHASE 2: INSULIN OVERSHOOT (30–60 MINS)               │
│ Massive Insulin Wave ──► Fleeting Stability, Rapid Onset Fatigue / Fog      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                       │
                                       ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                       PHASE 3: REACTIVE HYPOGLYCEMIA (60–90 MINS)           │
│ Blood Sugar Crash ──► Irritability, Withdrawal, Low Frustration Tolerance   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                       │
                                       ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                       PHASE 4: EMERGENCY HORMONAL SURGE (90+ MINS)          │
│ Adrenaline & Cortisol ──► Aggression, Defiance, Meltdowns, Explosive Panic  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Phase 1: Hyperglycemia & Hyper-Arousal (0–30 Minutes)

• Physiology: Blood glucose skyrockets alongside an acute surge of dopamine.

• What Professionals or Parents See:

  • Physical Restlessness: Excessive fidgeting, inability to sit still, pacing, or running around room spaces unprovoked.

  • Vocal Hyperactivity: Shouting across room boundaries, rapid talking, interrupting staff or peers, and high-volume emotional contagion.

  • Impulsivity & Risk-Taking: Ignoring safety rules during sports or games, rough housing, boundary-testing, and difficulty following basic multi-step instructions.

Phase 2: Insulin Overshoot (30–60 Minutes)

• Physiology: The pancreas floods the system with insulin to force glucose into cells, causing a brief plateau followed by a rapid drop.

• What Professionals or Parents See:

  • Sudden Energy Dips: A sharp contrast to Phase 1, when young people suddenly sit down, lean against walls, or slump over tables.

  • Attentional Drift: Struggling to focus during structured discussions, drills, or workshops; glazed eyes and frequent yawning.

  • Seeking Further Stimulation: Pestering staff or peers for more snacks, fizzy drinks, or tobacco/vapes to combat the emerging crash.

Phase 3: Reactive Hypoglycemia / The Crash (60–90 Minutes)

• Physiology: Insulin overcorrects, driving blood sugar below baseline levels. The brain experiences an acute shortage of its primary fuel source (Ludwig, 2002).

• What Professionals or Parents See:

  • Irritability & Bickering: Petty disagreements with peers escalate rapidly over minor triggers (e.g., sharing equipment, game rules, or sitting arrangements).

  • Low Frustration Tolerance: Giving up instantly when faced with a challenge in sports, arts, or group tasks; throwing equipment down or walking off.

  • Emotional Sensitivity: Becoming unusually tearful, moody, or defensive when given constructive feedback or gentle boundary reminders.

Phase 4: The Emergency Hormonal Response (90+ Minutes)

• Physiology: Sensing a life-threatening fuel crisis, the adrenal glands flood the bloodstream with adrenaline (epinephrine) and cortisol to force glycogen back into the blood.

• What Professionals or Parents See:

  • Fight-or-Flight Outbursts: Explosive verbal aggression, swearing, slamming doors, or physical defiance against staff.

  • Severe Dysregulation & Meltdowns: Complete loss of logical reasoning; the young person is operating under primitive fight-or-flight survival neurobiology.

  • Extreme Fatigue or Shutdown: Once the adrenaline surge recedes, young people often crash into profound physical exhaustion, severe brain fog, apathy, or complete withdrawal from the group.

Key Takeaway for Staff and parental Training

When a youth worker or coach faces an angry, non-compliant, or emotional young person towards the end of a session, framing this behavior through Phase 4 (Adrenaline Response) changes the staff intervention strategy.

Rather than attempting heavy verbal reasoning or issuing purely disciplinary consequences while the young person is in a state of physiological panic, staff can focus on de-escalation, safety, hydration, and providing a slow-release carbohydrate/protein snack to help restore blood glucose baseline first.

4. The Long-Term Health Crisis

Regularly subjecting the juvenile body to 100-gram sugar spikes drives cumulative physical damage across key organ systems.

                  CHRONIC METABOLIC PROGRESSION

   High Sugar Intake ──► Hepatic Lipogenesis ──► Fatty Liver (NAFLD)
           │
           ├──► Continuous Insulin Spikes ──► Insulin Resistance ──► Type 2 Diabetes
           │
           └──► Leptin Blunting ──► Satiety Loss ──► Visceral Obesity

Hepatic Stress and De Novo Lipogenesis

The human liver can store only a limited amount of glycogen at any one time. When flooded with massive doses of refined sugars—specifically fructose—the liver's metabolic capacity is overwhelmed. It is forced to convert excess fructose directly into fat via de novo lipogenesis (DNL) (Lustig, 2013). This mechanism is a primary driver of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), a condition historically seen in older adults but now increasingly diagnosed in teenagers.

Insulin Resistance and Type 2 Diabetes

Exposing pancreatic beta cells to repeated, massive insulin demands gradually wears down systemic insulin sensitivity. Tissues become desensitized to the hormone, requiring the pancreas to produce higher concentrations of insulin to manage routine meals. This progression into insulin resistance serves as the foundation for metabolic syndrome, systemic chronic inflammation, and early-onset Type 2 Diabetes (Ludwig, 2002).

Leptin Resistance and Dysregulated Appetite

Unlike whole foods, liquid and ultra-processed sugars do not adequately suppress ghrelin (the hunger hormone) nor do they stimulate leptin (the satiety hormone) effectively (Teff et al., 2004). A young person can consume 500 calories of sugary drinks in under 30 minutes without triggering fullness cues, resulting in an unconscious energy surplus that drives childhood obesity.

Strategic Recommendations for Youth Professionals and Parents

To mitigate these behavioral and physiological disruptions, youth organizations and parents should implement targeted structural changes:

1. Hydration First Protocol: Upon arrival, provide free, highly visible, chilled water stations. A significant portion of rapid sugar consumption is driven by simple thirst following the school day, which young people inadvertently satisfy with chilled, sugary drinks.

2. Glucose Buffering Snacks: If food is provided on-site, replace isolated refined sugars with complex carbohydrates, fiber, and protein (e.g., fresh fruit paired with plain yogurt, whole-grain pita with hummus, or seeds). Protein and soluble fiber slow gastric emptying, blunting the glycemic response and eliminating the secondary adrenaline surge.

3. Environmental Audits and Boundaries: Review vending options and tuck-shop policies within facilities. Establishing limits on high-sugar sales creates an environment that supports youth workers in managing group behavior effectively.

Harvard Reference List

• Avena, N.M., Rada, P. and Hoebel, B.G. (2008) 'Evidence for sugar addiction: Behavioral and neurochemical effects of intermittent, excessive sugar intake', Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 32(1), pp. 20–39.

• Cordain, L., Eaton, S.B., Sebastian, A., Mann, N., Lindeberg, S., Watkins, B.A., O'Keefe, J.H. and Brand-Miller, J. (2005) 'Origins and evolution of the Western diet: health implications for the 21st century', The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 81(2), pp. 341–354.

• Eaton, S.B. and Konner, M. (1985) 'Paleolithic nutrition: a consideration of its nature and current implications', The New England Journal of Medicine, 312(5), pp. 283–289.

• Ludwig, D.S. (2002) 'The glycemic index: physiological mechanisms relating to obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease', JAMA, 287(18), pp. 2414–2423.

• Lustig, R.H. (2013) Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease. London: Penguin Books.

• Pontzer, H., Raichlen, D.A., Wood, B.M., Mabulla, A.Z., Racette, S.B. and Marlowe, F.W. (2012) 'Hunter-gatherer energetics and human obesity', PLoS ONE, 7(7), p. e40994.

• Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) (2015) Carbohydrates and Health. London: TSO (The Stationery Office).

• Teff, K.L., Elliott, S.S., Tschöp, M., Kieffer, T.J., Rader, D., Heiman, M., Townsend, R.R., Keim, N.L., D'Alessio, D. and Havel, P.J. (2004) 'Dietary fructose reduces circulating insulin and leptin, attenuates postprandial suppression of ghrelin, and increases triglycerides in women', The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 89(6), pp. 2963–2972.

• Volkow, N.D., Wang, G.J., Tomasi, D. and Baler, R.D. (2013) 'Obesity and addiction: neurobiological overlaps', Obesity Reviews, 14(1), pp. 2–18.

• Wood, B.M., Pontzer, H., Raichlen, D.A. and Marlowe, F.W. (2014) 'Mutualism between Hadza hunter-gatherers and honeyguides', Evolution and Human Behavior, 35(1), pp. 37–46.

• World Health Organization (WHO) (2015) Guideline: Sugars Intake for Adults and Children. Geneva: World Health Organization.

Beyond the Gym: The Need For BOTH Movement Optimism and Movement Opportunism

We live in a culture that often treats physical activity as something to be completed inside a specific box—usually a gym, for 60 minutes, on a rigid schedule. While structured workouts certainly have their place and offer clear physical benefits, relying solely on them creates two subtle challenges:

1. One-Dimensional Movement: Traditional gym exercises often rely on predictable, linear patterns. Over time, we lose the rich movement complexity that our bodies naturally evolved for, which can leave us feeling less confident or capable when navigating the unpredictable demands of the real world.

2. Movement Scarcity: We assume that if we cannot dedicate a full hour to a formal workout, our day was a complete loss for physical health, leaving our bodies unnourished for the diverse movement inputs they actually need.

As a movement specialist, I see this gap every single day. To bridge it and build a truly resilient body, we need to bring two distinct, deeply complementary mindsets into our lives: Movement Optimism and Movement Opportunism.

1. Movement Fear & Movement Optimism: Reclaiming Trust in Your Body

The concept of Movement Optimism was popularized by Canadian physiotherapist and biomechanist Greg Lehman to directly address the widespread issue of Movement Fear.

Societally, many of us have become hesitant around movement, often receiving messages from rehab and fitness culture that warn against bad posture, dangerous angles, or moving incorrectly. When combined with a life of linear, one-dimensional gym routines, it is easy to lean away from complex physical challenges outside controlled environments.

Greg Lehman’s framework turns this on its head. As a movement community, we owe a lot to this perspective because, at its core, Movement Optimism is a mindset of trust. It reinforces that:

• The human body is inherently strong, adaptable, and robust—designed to handle variable forces and positions.

• Pain does not automatically mean structural damage; the body possesses a profound, innate capacity to adapt and heal itself.

• Movement should not be feared or micro-managed, especially during rehabilitation.

Instead of overthinking every angle or worrying whether your spine is perfectly neutral when reaching down, Movement Optimism encourages you to shed the anxiety and trust that your body is built to move.

2. Movement Opportunism: Translating Mindset into Action

Movement Optimism is vital—we must believe in our body's capacity to heal and move well. But optimism alone is not enough if our daily environment remains physically sparse.

This is where Movement Opportunism comes in—and you heard it here first.

While Movement Optimism lays the groundwork for how we feel about movement, Movement Opportunism is about our subsequent behaviours driven by those feelings. It is about taking the initiative, agency, and accountability to act on those feelings every single day.

To understand Movement Opportunism, it helps to look through the lens of ecological dynamics and the concept of movement affordances. An affordance is simply an opportunity for action that your environment offers you:

• A flight of stairs affords stepping, leaping, or balancing.

• A curb or low wall affords balance work.

• A heavy bag on the floor affords lifting and carrying.

• A low-hanging tree branch affords hanging or pulling.

Ultimately, Movement Opportunism relies on your physical literacy—the psychological understanding, confidence, and physical competence to recognise these affordances and take accountability for acting on them. It means taking ownership of your physical environment and collecting microdoses of movement throughout your day, ensuring your tissues stay nourished, versatile, and adaptable without needing to change into workout gear or book a class.

What does Movement Opportunism look like in real life?

• Rethinking the Stairs: Instead of just walking straight up, take two stairs at a time, or try walking down sideways or backwards to challenge your knees, ankles, and balance in different planes.

• The Active Commute: Leave the car behind for the school run. Let your children pedal their bikes while you jog or walk briskly alongside them.

• Reframing Chores: Instead of stooping haphazardly to pick up scattered items off the floor, use it as a moment to practice a deep, comfortable squat or a single-leg hinge.

• Ditching the Taxi: Walk home from the market or shops with your bags, letting the carrying load shift naturally as you move.

• Urban Balance: Spot a low curb or concrete wall while waiting at a pedestrian crossing? Use it as a quick 15-second balance beam.

The Science: Mechanotransduction, WHO Guidelines, and Habit Psychology

Choosing to take agency as a movement opportunist is not just a fun lifestyle idea—it drives fundamental tissue adaptation, systemic health benefits, and sustainable habit formation.

1. A Mechanotherapeutic Approach via Mechanotransduction

Every time you load your tissues in novel, non-linear ways—whether balancing on a curb or stepping sideways down stairs—your cells experience mechanical stress. Through a physiological process known as mechanotransduction, your body converts these mechanical stimuli into cellular and structural signals.

This triggers key mechanotherapeutic benefits: tendon remodelling, bone density synthesis, improved joint cartilage health, and sharper neuromuscular coordination. By varying the angles, speeds, and loads throughout the day, you feed your tissue matrix the exact variety of stimuli it needs to stay resilient.

2. Meeting WHO Guidelines with Ease

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults achieve at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week, alongside regular muscle-strengthening activities.

If you view physical activity solely through formal 60-minute gym visits, hitting these targets can feel like an uphill climb. But when you adopt a Movement Opportunist mindset, those active minutes accumulate naturally. A dozen 2- to 3-minute movement snacks scattered across your day add up to half an hour of high-quality, highly varied movement before you have even set foot in a gym.

3. The Psychology of Habit Formation: Leveraging Atomic Habits

Taking agency as a movement opportunist requires shifting movement from a scheduled chore to an automatic habit. To bridge the gap between intent and action, we can apply the core principles of habit design:

• Make It Obvious: Train your brain to view environmental features as movement cues. A curb becomes a signal to balance; a flight of stairs becomes a cue to change directions.

• Make It Easy: Lower the friction. Microdoses of movement require no gym clothes, no travel time, and no special equipment—just a few seconds of intent.

• Make It Fun & Attractive: Reframe daily movement as play rather than exercise. Balancing on a wall or running alongside a child on a bike introduces playfulness back into adulthood.

• Make It Rewarding: Experience immediate psychological and physical feedback—a burst of circulation, joint lubrication, and the satisfying feeling of taking immediate ownership of your health.

Bringing It Together

Movement Optimism dismantles movement fear, reassuring us that our bodies are adaptable and capable of moving without anxiety. Movement Opportunism removes the friction of fitting exercise into a busy schedule, taking that optimistic mindset and backing it up with behaviour, initiative, and agency.

Structured gym workouts remain a fantastic tool, but pairing them with Movement Optimism and becoming an active opportunist creates a colourful, dynamic movement diet that keeps you confident, strong, and adaptable for life. It is time to start taking accountability for the movement opportunities all around us—your body will thank you for it.

Gaslighting: Villainous or Human Nature?

Turn on your phone, scroll through social media, or open a news app, and you’ll notice a shift in how we speak. Over the last few years, clinical and psychological language has surged into everyday vocabulary (Paz, 2021). Words like narcissist, trauma response, boundaries, and gaslighting are thrown around in casual conversation, workplace debates, and online commentary.

While increased awareness around mental health is positive, it has a side effect: self-diagnosis and strict categorisation. We love putting people into neat boxes—the "healthy" vs the "toxic," the "victims" vs the "abusers."

The front page of The Mail on Sunday made headlines with a quote from Earl Spencer: "It's not every day you get gaslit by the King" (The Mail on Sunday, 2026).

It was meant to catch eyes, but it highlighted a deeper truth: no one is above gaslighting. Not politicians, not bosses, not your partners, not young people, and certainly not royalty.

The Spectrum: From Clinical Weapon to Everyday Reflex

Much like anxiety, mood fluctuations, or executive functioning traits in ADHD, gaslighting exists on a wide psychological spectrum

• The Clinical End (Pathological): At the extreme end of the spectrum, gaslighting is a calculated, systematic form of psychological abuse (Stark, 2019). A person intentionally distorts reality to erode someone else's perception, memory, or sanity for power and control.

• The Subclinical End (Everyday High-Functioning Use): At the other end—where almost all of us operate daily—gaslighting is subclinical. It isn't a villainous master plan. It is a high-functioning, subconscious reflex used to dodge embarrassment, protect self-worth, or maintain an advantage in an argument.

Everyday Gaslighting: A Universal Human Reflex

To understand everyday gaslighting, we have to start with an uncomfortable truth: no one is clear of this.

No one is perfect, and virtually everyone does it in small ways every single day. It isn't a trait reserved for manipulative villains or "toxic" personalities—it is a fundamental human defence mechanism that no one, regardless of status, intelligence, or emotional maturity, is above.

When we strip away the clinical abuse definition, everyday subclinical gaslighting shows up in mundane, reflexive ways:

• Misplacing a key document and instinctively insisting, "You must have moved it," before checking your own bag.

• Saying during a disagreement, "I never said that, you're misremembering," because accepting what came out of your mouth hurts your self-image.

• Minimising someone’s reaction with, "You're just making a big deal out of nothing," because managing their discomfort feels overwhelming to you.

We don't do this because we are evil; we do it because our brains are wired to defend the ego at all costs. It's a high-functioning survival tool we rely on to navigate shame, fear of being wrong, and social conflict.

The Science of Protecting Our Ego

Why do we distort reality? Because human beings are wired for psychological self-preservation.

1. Cognitive Dissonance: When our view of ourselves ("I am a kind, competent person") collides with our actions ("I hurt someone's feelings" or "I made a mistake"), it creates uncomfortable tension (Festinger, 1957). Distorting the truth or shifting the blame resolves that tension instantly.

2. Self-Serving Bias: Our brains naturally take credit for success and push away responsibility for failure (Campbell and Sedikides, 1999). It’s far easier to believe someone else misheard us than to accept that we communicated poorly or acted out of line.

3. Naive Realism: We default to believing that our memory is objective reality (Ross and Ward, 1996). If someone else remembers a conversation differently, our immediate instinct isn't to doubt ourselves—it's to assume they are wrong, confused, or overly sensitive.

The Childhood Reflex We Forget to Unlearn

To understand why everyone gaslights, you have to look at childhood development.

When a young child breaks a lamp, their immediate response is often, "It fell!" or "My brother made me do it!" Why? Because to a child, admitting fault carries a perceived threat—loss of love, anger, punishment, or rejection (Lewis, 1992). Blame-shifting begins as a primitive survival tactic to stay safe and accepted.

As we grow up, we learn social norms, but that subconscious urge to protect ourselves from being accused never fully disappears. Under stress, fatigue, or conflict, the adult brain defaults right back to that childhood survival mode: Plausible deniability. Shift the focus. Protect the ego.

The Danger Isn't Doing It—It's Not Realising You Do It

If everyone operates on this spectrum, where does it become dangerous?

The danger arises when it remains unconscious.

When we lack self-awareness, our subclinical biases turn into chronic habits. We convince ourselves that we are always the reasonable party, always the victim of misunderstanding, and always in the right. Over time, this erodes trust in relationships, creates toxic environments, and stops personal growth.

The moment you pretend you are above gaslighting someone else is the exact moment you become most dangerous.

Where We Go From Here: Awareness and Empathy

Instead of using psychological terms as weapons to label everyone around us as "toxic," we need to turn the mirror inward.

• Catch the reflex: The next time you feel the urge to say "You're misremembering," "You're being crazy," or "I never did that," pause. Ask yourself: Am I defending the objective truth, or am I just defending my ego?

• Practice radical humility: It is okay to say, "Maybe I did say it that way," or "I didn't mean to hurt you, but I see why my words made you feel that way."

• Extend empathy: Knowing that gaslighting often comes from fear and ego-defence rather than pure malice allows us to respond with calm boundaries rather than explosive accusations.

No one is immune—not you, not me, and not the King. Recognising our own capacity for narrative distortion isn't a weakness; it's the first step toward genuine self-awareness and healthier connection.

References

• Campbell, W.K. and Sedikides, C., 1999. Self-threat magnifies the self-serving bias: A meta-analytic review. Review of General Psychology, 3(1), pp.23-43.

• Festinger, L., 1957. A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

• Lewis, M., 1992. Shame: The Exposure of Self. New York: Free Press.

• The Mail on Sunday, 2026. 'It's not every day you get gaslit by the King', 20 September, p.1.

• Paz, I., 2021. 'Therapy Speak': How clinical language conquered everyday speech. The New Yorker, 22 November. Available at: https://www.newyorker.com [Accessed 21 September 2026].

• Ross, L. and Ward, A., 1996. Naive realism in everyday life: Implications for social conflict and misunderstanding. In: E.S. Reed, E. Turiel and T. Brown, eds. Values and Knowledge. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp.103-135.

• Stark, C.A., 2019. Gaslighting, epistemic injustice, and epistemic injustice in relationships. Hypatia, 34(2), pp.221-240.

Is Screen Use in Young People the Cause or the Symptom?

Correlation or Causation?

We are living through a strange historical paradox. Modern children are safer from physical harm, medical neglect, and structural danger than any generation in human history. Yet, beginning in the early 2010s, rates of adolescent anxiety, depression, and self-harm broke away from historical trends and surged upward into a full-scale crisis.

When searching for the roots of this phenomenon, cultural commentary often forces a false choice: Is it the physical overprotection of children, or is it the digital hyper-connection of the smartphone?

Two of the most prominent contemporary voices on youth well-being—researcher and psychologist Dr. Peter Gray and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt (The Anxious Generation)—are frequently framed as tackling separate culprits. Gray points to the systemic elimination of free play and unsupervised autonomy, while Haidt points to the rapid takeover of childhood by the phone-based life and social media algorithms.

Yet, when we look past the surface-level diagnosis of tools versus playgrounds, a profound convergence emerges. Haidt and Gray are not telling different stories; they are describing two halves of the exact same coin. Together, they reveal that the smartphone did not hijack childhood out of nowhere—it conquered a vacuum left by a society that had already locked its children indoors, moving at the frantic pace of the world rather than the steady, patient pace of nature.

The common denominator: The Evolutionary Mismatch

At their core, both Gray and Haidt operate from the same fundamental, scientific reality: human children are biologically and evolutionarily adapted for a specific developmental niche.

For thousands of years, human childhood was defined by physical reality. It was an apprenticeship in the real world, anchored in open-ended play, natural risk exposure, cross-age peer socialization, and real-world friction. Children grew resilient precisely because they were forced to navigate physical reality, resolve social disputes without adult referees, and learn to master their own fears.

Both authors agree that modern society has engineered an unprecedented, catastrophic departure from this evolutionary blueprint. We have substituted a world of physical breadth, messy experimentation, and deep community roots with a sterile, hyper-managed environment. Whether through the risk-averse panic of modern parenting—which treats every scraped knee or unsupervised walk to the park as a mortal threat—or the frictionless, hyper-stimulating glow of a glass screen, the traditional upbringing of children has been severed from its natural foundations.

Parallel Pillars: Where Haidt and Gray Converge

Far from contradicting one another, Gray’s work on play deprivation and Haidt’s work on the phone-based childhood run on parallel tracks, sharing three foundational pillars:

• The Death of Agency and the External Locus of Control: Both thinkers recognise that modern children suffer from a profound deficit of autonomy. Gray demonstrates that when adults strip away free play, children lose their internal locus of control, leaving them vulnerable to anxiety because they never practice being the masters of their own fate. Haidt maps this exact same vulnerability onto the digital space: social media algorithms externalize a child's self-worth, tethering their emotional stability to quantifiable, algorithmic validation.

• Adult Over-Involvement and Hyper-Regulation: Both critics point an accusing finger at a culture that bubble-wraps children in the physical world, substituting helicopter parenting and hyper-scheduled routines for genuine unstructured freedom. When children feel restless or suffocated by this over-managed existence, well-meaning adults hand them a smartphone—a digital pacifier to keep them quiet, contained, and "safe" indoors.

• The Need for a Collective Cultural Correction: Neither author treats this crisis as a failure of individual parenting that can be fixed with lifestyle hacks. Both argue that the problem is systemic, requiring a coordinated, community-level response to reclaim neighborhood autonomy, restrict screen culture, and restore sanity to how we raise the young.

The Bridge: Why the Phone Won

When we bridge their arguments, the full picture comes into sharp focus.

The smartphone did not conquer a healthy, thriving generation of children. It colonized a generation that was already profoundly isolated, heavily monitored, and starved of real-world agency. By the time mobile internet saturated the market around 2010–2012, children had already been pulled off the streets, out of the woods, and away from the spontaneous neighborhood play groups that once built natural resilience.

When children were told they could no longer explore the physical commons, they retreated indoors. The smartphone became the inevitable substitute for peer socialization. It offered a clever, hyper-addictive simulation of connection to minds that were evolutionarily desperate for community. But unlike real-world play—which teaches emotional regulation through friction and face-to-face empathy—the digital substitute delivered its rewards through a frictionless loop that bypassed every natural human guardrail, feeding an insatiable consumer appetite for "more, more, more".

Reclaiming the Rooted Life

Reconciling Dr. Peter Gray and Jonathan Haidt gives us a complete roadmap for healing the anxious generation. It tells us that a two-front stewardship is required:

1. We must reclaim the physical commons: We have to loosen our grip as adults, give children back their unsupervised time, and normalize the reality that children grow brave by facing manageable physical and social risks in the natural world.

2. We must close the digital escape hatches: We must build collective social boundaries that protect childhood from the predatory design of the phone-based consumptive life, recognizing that digital connection is a part of life, but a poor substitute for the messy, grounding reality of face-to-face community and the Earth.

Ultimately, the anxiety crisis is a symptom of a deeper root, not necessarily the cause. When we lock children away from the seasons, the dirt, the risks, and the unmediated freedom of the natural world, we shouldn't be surprised when they seek refuge in the virtual glow of a screen. To heal the generation, we do not simply need to take away their phones—we need to give them back their world.

Beyond Competence: Why the Fundamentals Make the Cake

I may trust you with my life, but do I trust you with my money and my wife?"— Simon Sinek. True character goes beyond just getting the job done on the battlefield or in the office.

Have you ever known or worked with an absolute genius—a surgeon, a master builder, or a brilliant developer—only to find them impossible to work with? Alternatively, have you ever encountered someone incredibly eager and pleasant, but who simply couldn't deliver the basic quality of work they promised?

In any profession, whether we are talking about employees, service providers, or just being a decent human being, there is a sliding scale of capability and character. To make sense of what truly makes a "good" member of staff or service provider, we can look at it as a pyramid: The Professional Development Pyramid (see below).

While many focus entirely on reaching the "artisan" peak, the reality is that the true differentiator in the modern world isn't always elite craftsmanship. It’s also the fundamentals at the bottom, and the trust that holds it all together.

The Three Tiers of the Professional Pyramid

The pyramid is divided into three distinct levels, each building on the last. To understand why some people thrive while others struggle, we can look at how these tiers interact:

1. The Base: The Fundamentals of Good Practice

At the very bottom of the pyramid lies the broadest, deepest, and most crucial section: the fundamentals. These are the non-negotiables of being a reliable human being and a functioning member of any team.

• Punctuality: Being on time.

• Reliability: Doing what you say you are going to do.

• Effective Basic Communication: Answering the phone, replying to messages, and keeping people informed.

• Basic Relationship Skills: Having fundamental empathy, understanding, trustworthiness, honesty, and caring for the person on the other end of your service.

• Basic Quality Workmanship: Possessing the standard, foundational skills required to do the job (for example, a roofer knowing how to safely and correctly lay a basic tile).

• Problem Solving: Being proactive and accountable.

This is the bedrock. Without it, the rest of the pyramid has nothing to stand on. Yet, surprisingly, this is the area most frequently neglected.

2. The Middle: Enhanced Competence & Quality Service

As we move up, the skillset and interpersonal qualities become more refined. This is where a good worker becomes a truly valuable one.

• Higher Quality Workmanship: Going beyond "good enough" to deliver truly great, durable work.

• High Empathy & Caringness: Genuinely caring about the client’s experience or your teammate’s workload.

• Excellent, Timely Communication: Being proactive—sending quotes quickly, addressing issues before they become problems, and actively listening.

• Strong Interpersonal Skills: The ability to navigate difficult conversations, collaborate, and build positive, lasting relationships.

3. The Apex: The Artisan Level (Peak Artistry & Mastery)

At the very top sits the apex—highly specialized, elite-level mastery.

• Elite Craftsmanship & Expertise: Exceptional, artisan-level standards that only a tiny percentage of people can achieve.

• Precise, Exact Completion: Flawless execution, perfectly on time, every time.

• Masterful Communication: Advanced, seamless navigation of complex environments.

The 80/20 Rule: Halfway Up is Better Than Most

We often assume that to be successful, we must claw our way to the very top of the apex. But there is a liberating truth about the 80/20 rule of professional standards: reaching just the middle of this pyramid makes you better than 80% of the people out there.

A vast number of service providers and employees have decent middle-tier skills, but they constantly trip over the bottom. They might be great at their craft, but they don't show up on time, they don't return calls, or they don't do what they said they would do. Conversely, some have the best intentions but lack the competence to get halfway up the triangle.

If you can master the fundamentals—showing up, communicating, and caring—and pair that with good, reliable quality (the middle tier), you will already be vastly more successful, trusted, and sought-after than the vast majority of your competition.

Beware the "Top-Heavy" Trap: The Inverted Pyramid

What happens when we ignore the base? We get the "Top-Heavy" Trap. This is an inverted pyramid—highly unstable and toxic.

This happens when someone possesses elite, apex-level skills but lacks the basic fundamentals. The classic example is the world-class surgeon who performs flawless, life-saving surgeries but has such a terrible bedside manner that patients and staff dread interacting with them. Or the genius contractor who can build a masterpiece but refuses to return your calls, misses deadlines, and leaves you completely in the dark.

In these cases, high skill is ruined by terrible character and communication. Over time, the instability of lacking a foundation causes this top-heavy structure to topple, leaving behind broken trust and frustrated teams.

Simon Sinek’s Navy SEALs Principle: Trust > Performance

This brings us to a vital insight popularized by Simon Sinek, regarding how the US Navy SEALs select their most elite teams.

When the SEALs evaluate candidates, they look at two metrics: Performance (how good you are on the battlefield) and Trust (how good you are off the battlefield, as a person).

• High Performance + Low Trust = A toxic leader/teammate.

• Medium Performance + High Trust = A highly valued, natural leader.

Sinek’s takeaway from the SEALs is profound: "They would rather have a medium-level operator with high trust than a high-level operator with low trust."

In the corporate world, we often promote and tolerate the "high performer with low trust"—the toxic high-achiever who makes everyone else’s lives miserable. But just like the Navy SEALs, the best teams, the best businesses, and the most successful service relationships are built on trust.

Conclusion

You don't need to be an elite, apex "artisan" to be highly successful and respected. Focus first on building a broad, unshakable foundation of fundamentals: show up, do what you say you’ll do, and treat people with basic respect and empathy.

Once you have those basics locked down, strive for good quality and excellent communication. By doing so, you will climb halfway up the pyramid—and find yourself head and shoulders above the rest.

Get Back Pain? The best movement is your next one.

The Guardian provided a very useful article on back pain based on the work by Professor Peter O'Sullivan’s research group. If you experience back pain, I have provided a brief summary for you here.

Key Points:

Summary: "The Best Movement is the Next Movement"

The central theme is that back pain is rarely caused by structural damage (like broken bones or torn muscles) but is often a result of nerve sensitisation triggered by muscle spasms, stress, and a lack of varied movement.

1. The Cause: Stress and Sensitisation

The Spasm Loop: About 95% of back pain episodes occur when a person is run down, stressed, or sleep-deprived. A minor movement (like bending for a coffee mug) triggers a protective muscle spasm.

Nerve Sensitivity: This pain often causes people to "seize up" and stop moving to protect the area. Ironically, this lack of movement makes the nerves more sensitive to even minor stimuli, creating a cycle of chronic pain.

Imaging vs. Reality: Scans (MRI/CT) often show no difference between people with pain and those without. The pain is real, but it’s often a functional issue rather than a structural injury.

2. The Solution: Varied Natural & Functional Movement

"Motion is Lotion": Experts emphasise that joints need to be moved to stay healthy. The lumbar spine is often overloaded by static positions (like sitting) without being allowed to adjust.

Multi-directional Movement: To prevent and treat pain, you should move your spine in all directions: flexion (forward), extension (backward), rotation (twisting), and side-bending.

The Goal: The aim is to "remind your brain that it's okay to move." Activities like yoga or even just a daily 15-minute walk can be transformative.

3. Prevention through Lifestyle

Prevention is far more effective than treatment. Key factors include:

Better sleep hygiene.

Quitting smoking.

Increasing general and natural physical activity.

Managing psychological stress.

Link:

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/jan/31/lower-back-pain-prevention-movement-exercises#:~:text=The%20solution%20to%20the%20majority,rotate%20and%20side%2Dbend.%E2%80%9D

Your Brain’s Shortcuts: Why Heuristics Save Time But May Cost You Clarity

Your Brain’s Shortcuts: Why Heuristics Save Time But May Cost You Clarity

Imagine you’re walking through a dense forest. Every rustle, every shadow requires a decision: threat or meal? You don't have time to run a full cost-benefit analysis on every single input. To survive, you must make a quick, good-enough judgement.

This need for speed is why your brain evolved heuristics—mental shortcuts or rules of thumb. They are the ultimate energy-saving hack. In our ancestral environment, these shortcuts were brilliant, allowing us to navigate an overwhelming world without burning out our limited mental battery. They helped our ancestors survive by prioritising efficiency over accuracy.

The Evolutionary Brilliance (Why We Have Them)

Your brain is a resource hog, demanding about 20% of your total energy intake. Heuristics are a defence mechanism against cognitive overload. If you had to analyse every single product review, every social interaction, and every marketing claim in detail, you’d be paralysed by decision fatigue before noon.

Example Heuristics:

• Availability Heuristic: We assume things that come to mind easily (like news reports of plane crashes) are more common or likely than they are. Evolutionary tie: Quickly recalling past dangers for immediate protection.

• Recognition Heuristic: If we recognise one of two objects (e.g., city names), we assume the recognised one is "better" or larger. Evolutionary tie: Trusting familiar paths or people saves testing time.

The Modern Mismatch: Where Efficiency Fails

The problem isn't the shortcuts; it’s the modern environment. Our ancient brain is now operating in a world of infinite, instant information and overwhelming choice. This creates an Evolutionary Mismatch that turns our time-saving mechanisms into traps.

In the ancestral world, information was scarce. In the modern world, information is a firehose.

Our heuristics get hijacked:

• They fuel consumerism: Our brain still seeks to acquire and signal status (ancient drive), and marketers expertly use heuristics like the "Bandwagon Effect" ("Everyone else is buying this!") or "Authority Bias" (Trusting an "expert" with a fancy title) to trigger an unconscious 'buy now' reaction, feeding that chronic, insatiable desire for more, more, more.

• They create deep bias: When making hiring or complex judgement calls, we default to the "Affect Heuristic" (using our feelings/gut reaction) or "Confirmation Bias" (seeking information that validates what we already believe). This is a fast way to make a decision, but it locks us into patterns of prejudice and poor choices, eroding clarity and commitment.

The Solution: Slow Down to Speed Up

You can’t eliminate heuristics—they are part of being human. But you can learn to recognise the moments when your brain is switching to autopilot.

A Simple "Mindset Reset" for Decision Making:

1. Spot the Rush: If you feel compelled to make a quick decision (a purchase, an agreement, a judgement), stop and ask: “Am I being driven by speed or clarity?”

2. Name the Bias: Try to identify the shortcut. Is it Confirmation Bias (looking only for supporting evidence)? Is it Availability Bias (focusing only on the most recent thing you saw)? Simply naming it disrupts its power.

3. Create a System: For important decisions, create a checklist or a rule (a meta-heuristic) to force yourself to use System 2 thinking (slow, logical, effortful). For example: "Before a major purchase, I must sleep on it for 24 hours."

Conclusion: Reclaiming Your Decision Space

Our ancestors used mental shortcuts to survive an energy-scarce world. We must now use conscious awareness to survive a world drowning in information. By understanding the evolutionary purpose of your heuristics, you can take back control of your attention and your decisions, preventing those ancient shortcuts from constantly tripping you up.

Call to Action: What is one decision you recently made that you suspect was driven by an unconscious shortcut? Share your thoughts below!

My summary of Robert M. Sapolsky’s 'Stress and the brain: individual variability and the inverted-U' (2015).

This paper by Robert M. Sapolsky, titled ‘Stress and the brain: individual variability and the inverted-U’ (2015), focuses on the complex, nuanced relationship between stress, the brain's stress hormones (specifically glucocorticoids like cortisol), and brain function.

The core points of the paper are:

1. The Inverted-U Function for Glucocorticoids

The paper emphasises that the effect of glucocorticoids (GCs) on brain function and cognition does not follow a simple linear pattern, but rather an inverted U-shaped curve.

• Low Stress/GC Levels: When GC levels are too low (due to insufficient stress), performance and memory are generally suboptimal. A certain baseline level of GCs is necessary for alertness and cognitive function.

• Moderate Stress/GC Levels: Moderate, acute stress and the resulting optimal levels of GCs are generally associated with peak performance (e.g., in memory retrieval, focus, and decision-making).

• High Stress/GC Levels: Excessive or chronic stress leads to persistently high GC levels, which impairs the function of several brain regions, notably the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. This results in declined performance, impaired memory formation, reduced attention, and emotional dysregulation.

2. Structural and Functional Changes in the Brain

Sapolsky discusses the underlying biological changes in the brain caused by excessive stress:

• Hippocampus: High, chronic GCs are toxic to the hippocampus, a brain region critical for memory and emotion regulation. This can lead to atrophy (shrinkage) of hippocampal neurons and dendritic retraction, impairing the formation of new memories and emotional control.

• Prefrontal Cortex (PFC): The PFC, responsible for executive functions (planning, decision-making, working memory), is also vulnerable. Chronic stress impairs its function, shifting behaviour toward habit-based (less flexible) responses and increasing emotional reactivity.

• Amygdala: In contrast to the hippocampus and PFC, the amygdala, a key centre for fear and emotion, tends to become hypertrophied (enlarged) and hyperactive, contributing to heightened anxiety and fear responses.

3. Individual Variability

A critical theme is the immense individual variability in the stress response. People differ significantly in how they respond to the same stressor, and a combination of factors determines this:

• Genetics: Individual genetic differences influence the number and sensitivity of glucocorticoid receptors in the brain.

• Early-Life Experience: The quality of early life (e.g., parental care, childhood stress) significantly "programs" the stress-response system for life. Adverse early experiences can make the stress system permanently more reactive and vulnerable to later stressors.

• Coping Style and Personality: Behavioural and psychological traits, such as an individual's sense of control or social connectedness, modulate the biological stress response.

In essence, the paper provides a framework for understanding how the complex actions of stress hormones, mediated by brain structures and shaped by individual history, can lead to both adaptive enhancement and pathological vulnerability in brain function.

A Literature Review of Natural Movement and Its Application to Biopsychosocial Care

The concept of ‘natural movement,’ while popularised more recently, has its principles deeply rooted in evidence around evolution, human development, motor skill and learning, physiology, psychology and sociology and is supported by a growing body of academic literature on functional fitness, holistic exercise, and nature-based physical activity.

The underlying premise is that the human organism is not only evolutionarily optimised for a wide range of varied, multi-planar motions but is also fundamentally designed to move and exist in diverse natural, built, and social environments. A lack of this fundamental movement variability, psychological adaptability and social connectedness, common in modern sedentary lifestyles, is a contributing factor to various physical and mental health issues.

This review synthesises peer-reviewed research to explore the development and application of natural movement, with a specific focus on its physical relevance to biopsychosocial care. It argues that the key to understanding the benefits of this approach lies in the principles of ecological dynamics, where movement behaviour is shaped by the interaction between an individual and the ‘affordances’ of their environment, rather than being solely an internal, pre-programmed action. This review demonstrates how this ecological perspective provides a holistic and practical framework for enhancing physical literacy, fostering resilience, and improving health across diverse populations.

The Development and Principles of Natural Movement

The modern formalisation of natural movement draws from early 20th-century physical culture, but its core principles are supported by evidence from evolutionary biology and biomechanics. The approach emphasises fundamental human movement skills, often categorised as:

• Locomotoive skills: Walking, running, balancing, crawling, climbing, and swimming.

• Manipulative skills: Lifting, carrying, throwing, and catching.

• Combative skills: Striking and grappling.

This system, which views the body as an integrated whole, contrasts with traditional fitness models that often focus on isolated muscle groups. This paradigm shift is supported by research showing that compound, multi-joint movements are more effective for overall physical development and functional strength.

The Role of Physical Literacy, Motor Learning, and Play

A key distinction of the natural movement approach is its focus on developing physical literacy, a concept defined as the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge, and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life. Natural movement, by its very nature, provides an ideal framework for fostering these components through playful and creative approaches to motor learning.

• Motor Learning Principles: Research on motor learning consistently highlights the effectiveness of variable practice over repetitive, ‘block’ practice. Natural movement, by its nature, is highly variable. For example, balancing on an uneven log requires constant, subtle adjustments, which is more effective for long-term motor skill acquisition than balancing on a fixed surface. Similarly, lifting and carrying an oddly shaped object, such as a large rock or log, promotes greater neuromuscular plasticity and skill transfer to different situations than a standard barbell lift.

• Play and Creativity: Academic literature on human development and motor competence underscores the importance of playful and creative approaches to movement. In rehabilitation settings, for instance, the use of creative activities such as obstacle courses, games, and even arts and crafts has been shown to improve motor skills and engagement. This approach taps into an individual's intrinsic motivation, which is crucial for long-term adherence to an exercise or rehabilitation program. For children, particularly, creative play is foundational to developing motor competence and problem-solving skills, all of which are pillars of physical literacy.

Application to Fitness and Health

Academic literature consistently supports the benefits of the multi-joint, compound movements that form the cornerstone of a natural movement practice. These movements are superior to single-joint, isolated exercises for developing practical, real-world strength that translates directly to daily tasks.

• Improved Functional Strength and Cardiovascular Health: Research in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research and other peer-reviewed journals demonstrates that multi-joint movements effectively improve both muscular strength and cardiovascular health by engaging multiple muscle groups simultaneously, leading to greater energy expenditure and a more holistic training effect. As noted in a comprehensive review in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, there is strong evidence for the health benefits of varied physical activity (Warburton et al., 2006), supporting the notion that a broad range of movements contributes to a reduced risk of chronic diseases such as obesity and heart disease.

• Risk Exposure and Resilience: Natural movement often involves calculated risk-taking, such as climbing or navigating uneven terrain. Academic discussion on this topic suggests that appropriate risk exposure is crucial for developing physical and psychological resilience. For instance, safely navigating a challenging environment helps individuals learn to assess their own capabilities and make informed decisions, fostering confidence and self-efficacy. This controlled exposure to physical stressors prepares the body and mind to handle unexpected challenges in daily life, reducing the fear of movement and improving overall confidence.

Application to Wellbeing and Rehabilitation

The principles of natural movement are highly relevant in both psychological well-being and physical rehabilitation, where the focus is on restoring fundamental human capabilities and promoting a lifelong relationship with movement, primarily through the lens of ecological dynamics.

• Mental and Cognitive Wellbeing: A significant body of evidence, including a systematic review by Thompson Coon et al. (2011), shows that physical activity performed in natural environments has a greater positive effect on mental wellbeing than activity in an indoor, built environment. This is often attributed to the psychological benefits of nature, such as reduced stress and improved mood. From an ecological perspective, the varied and unpredictable terrain of natural environments presents a constant series of ‘affordances’ (e.g., a rock affording climbing, a log affording balancing) that demand real-time problem-solving and decision-making. This cognitive challenge can enhance focus and problem-solving skills, further supporting the mind-body connection.

• Injury Rehabilitation: While systematic reviews on ‘natural movement’ specifically for rehabilitation are nascent, its core principles are validated within the literature on functional rehabilitation and holistic physical therapy. The Cochrane Collaboration (2017) confirmed, in its review of stroke rehabilitation, that task-oriented, functional movements are effective in improving mobility and gait. The principles of natural movement—such as restoring a person's ability to move from the ground to a standing position or navigate uneven terrain—are directly applicable to improving function and preventing re-injury. Furthermore, a systematic review on chronic low back pain highlights that varied exercise-based rehabilitation is an effective treatment (White et al., 2016), underscoring the value of the diverse movements found in a natural movement practice. By focusing on how the environment affords specific movement behaviours, natural movement provides a holistic framework for rehabilitation that not only restores physical function but also rebuilds confidence and competence, contributing to the individual's overall physical literacy.

Conclusion and Future Research

This review has demonstrated that the core tenets of natural movement are supported by established academic literature on functional fitness, motor learning, and nature-based physical activity. While the benefits and scientific principles are clear, a significant limitation is the lack of specific, direct research on ‘natural movement’ as a formalised discipline. Future studies should focus on implementing and evaluating structured natural movement programs to provide more direct evidence of their efficacy across diverse populations and in various settings, from public health initiatives to clinical rehabilitation.

Reference List

• Brito, M., Carraca, E., et al. (2022). The effects of nature-based vs. indoor settings on the adaptability, performance and affect of calisthenics exercisers. ResearchGate.

• Cochrane Collaboration. (2017). Physical rehabilitation approaches for the recovery of function and mobility following stroke (Review). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

• Thompson Coon, J., et al. (2011). Does participating in physical activity in outdoor natural environments have a greater effect on physical and mental wellbeing than physical activity indoors? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the research. Public Health England.

• Warburton, D. E., Nicol, C. W., & Bredin, S. S. (2006). Health benefits of physical activity: the evidence. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 174(6), 801-809.

• White, G., et al. (2016). A systematic review of the effects of exercise and physical activity on non-specific chronic low back pain. Journal of Pain Research, 9, 393-404.

Why Human Movement Is More Than Just the Big Seven

Why Human Movement Is More Than Just the Big Seven

In the world of strength training, we often hear that all human movement boils down to five key patterns: squat, hinge, push, pull, brace, lunge, and rotate. These movements form the backbone of many strength programs—and for good reason. They’re foundational strength patterns that have adapted our programming thinking towards a more human-centric approach over traditional isolation body building approaches of the 90s.

But here’s the thing: that list, while useful, is also a product of the strength world’s lens of movement. It reflects the goals and priorities of lifting, not necessarily the full spectrum of human movement.

Human movement is more dynamic than just seven neat categories. Think about crawling, climbing, rolling, throwing, catching, jumping, sprinting, climbing, hanging, dancing, balancing—there’s a richness to the way we move that goes far beyond isolatory movement categories. These aren’t just “accessory” skills; they’re fundamental to how we explore and interact with the world, especially in real-life or sport-specific contexts.

Strength training is an amazing tool, and movement categories help us think more about function but it's only part of the puzzle. If we want to move better—not just lift better—we need to zoom out and look at movement as a broader, more diverse language. One that includes play, unpredictability, and adaptability.

So yes, squat, hinge, brace, lunge, and rotate are progressive and efficient ways to develop strength as an isolated quality, but getting better at pulling won’t necessarily get you better at climbing. Let’s not forget to climb a tree, roll on the floor, or jump into a game of tag once in a while. That’s movement, too.

One thing is for sure: natural movement training will give you practical and applicable movement skills while developing a range of fitness qualities such as strength. The same can not be said the other way around.