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> The drive to look deeper into these neurons grew out of a simple observation Betley and his team made shortly after he joined Penn in 2015—hunger could dampen
by Paracompact 1y ago
> The drive to look deeper into these neurons grew out of a simple observation Betley and his team made shortly after he joined Penn in 2015—hunger could dampen long-term pain responses. “When it came to chronic, lingering pain, hunger seemed to be more powerful than Advil at reducing pain.”
This in itself is a very interesting observation. I've always been inclined to fast during times of pain and anxiety, and honestly it kind of works? Could well be part of meditative fasting's popularity throughout history.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- chubot 1y agoYeah I fasted for the first time last year, and it pretty much immediately turned off a pain response due to an overactive immune response I got the idea from a book, and it worked When I ate again, it came back, but I was definitely relieved of pain for awhile. Thankfully the whole episode subsided after about 6 weeks, but it was comforting to know that I could turn it off by fasting.
- DenisM 1y agoHow many hours of not eating does it take to kick in?
- Paracompact 1y agoFor me, it has to be long enough for me to notice the hunger, and then for the hunger to subside. Between that point and lethargy/dizziness is a pretty zen place for me. (Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, and I have no experience with eating disorders.)
- chubot 1y agoI think it was after around 24 hours, and I did almost a 72 hour fast
- m463 1y agoI wonder how many problems are solved in a more common sense way than pills/etc For example, most headaches I have - drinking a glass of water usually fixes it. Maybe feed a cold, starve a fever. And now starve lower back pain?
- pkoird 1y agoIf you think about it, this has evolutionary advantages as well. No time to feel pain when your life itself may be in peril due to starvation. Finding food for sustenance easily supercedes recovery.
- simiones 1y agoEspecially if you haven't done this before, you start experiencing very strong hunger about 8-12 hours after your last meal. This is very, very much in advance of any kind of threat to your life or health from starvation. In fact, the sensation of hunger typically dulls after another 12h or so, so that if you make it past 24h of not eating, you'll typically feel less hunger than you did your first night of skipping dinner.
- e40 1y agoI noticed the same with allergies! In the spring time when my nose runs bad, it always pauses while I eat!