Super Stimulated: How Our Biology Is Being Manipulated to Create Bad Habits – and What We Can Do About It

Nicklas Brendborg

A fresh look at health, habits and longevity from internationally-bestselling author, Nicklas Brendborg - perfect for fans of Ultra-Processed People

IT'S NOT YOU. IT'S YOUR BIOLOGY.

Modern society is plagued by health epidemics: obesity, record levels of loneliness, increasing mental health problems and various forms of addiction. From the outside, all these issues might seem unrelated. But a single phenomenon actually ties them all together: superstimuli.

Superstimuli are exaggerated, unnatural versions of things we have evolved to want and need such as food, sex and social recognition. This hard wired evolutionary response is why we binge on fake ultra-processed food, lust after airbrushed people online, and struggle to stop scrolling on social media, even when it makes us feel bad. Our lack of control isn't because we are weak. It's because powerful companies spend billions creating superstimuli that manipulate our biology for profit, leaving us unhealthy and unhappy as a consequence.

Super Stimulated shows how we can resist this hijacking of our natural instincts, recognise superstimulus traps, and take control of our bad habits to live longer, healthier lives.