Transcript Cognition and Intelligence

Health
Overview of the day
Food
Exercise
Sleep and rest
Infectious Diseases
“Old wives tales”
Health and evolution
For 99% of the time humans have been on
earth, they were hunter-gathers
1.2 million years ago to about 10,000 years
ago: Hunter-gatherers:
10,000 years ago: Agriculture
200 years ago: Industrial revolution
80 years ago: Modern medicine
Our bodies are adapted to living as huntergatherers
Mismatch hypothesis
The stone age way of life to which our
biological and psychological make-up is
still adapted is very different from the
modern, western environment.
Therefore, we are mismatched-psychologically and biologically--to the
modern environment.
Food
HG diet: 22% fat, 41% carbohydrates, 37
protein
We are adapted to crave: fats, sweets,
salt
Scarce and hard to get in the EEA
Modern diet: 42% fat, 46%
carbohydrates, 12% protein
Abundant and easy to get
The modern diet
Too much fat, sugar, and salt
Cravings remain the same
Easy to get
Concentrated forms
Dense calories
Diet Niches: The case of
spice usage
Why do spices taste good?
They are good for us, they have antimicrobial
properties--they kill harmful bacteria
Where are spices most widely used?
Hot climates
(where bacteria in foods are more likely to
occur)
In what type of foods are spices most
widely used?
Meat dishes
(more likely to spoil than vegetable dishes)
Exercise
Hunter-gatherers:
Were fit
They engaged in frequent aerobic exercise
Had low % of body fat
Had frequent rest days
Most modern humans
Are out of shape (only 10-15% get regular
exercise)
Sleep
Sleep deprivation has reached epidemic
proportions in the US and other modern
societies
Evolved sleep needs:
8-9 hours per night
20 minutes of a mid-afternoon nap
Current sleep patterns: about 6-7 hours
(or less) per night, and no naps
Why we don’t get enough
sleep
Technologies not available in EEA
Electric lights
TV, movies, Web
Industrialized methods of production
New cultural patterns and values
shift-work
mass education
negative attitudes toward sleeping
Problems associated with
a lack of sleep
Mental: Impaired mental functioning
decreased problem-solving capacity
less alert (because cortisol is produced during sleep)
Biological
obesity and diabetes
lack of sleep inhibits the production of human
growth hormone (which controls fat and muscle
production), leptin (a hormone that makes you
feel full when you are), and insulin (which
regulates glucose absorption)
Lack of sleep...
Increases risk of infection
lack of sleep lowers white blood cell count
Decreases testosterone levels in men
Affects estrogen levels in women
too little sleep (in darkness) inhibits secretion
of melatonin
melatonin regulates estrogen (too little
melatonin means too much estrogen)
Evolutionary approaches to
proper sleep in the modern world
Throw away your TV (or at least turn it, and
your computer, off by 9:30 p.m.)
If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so only in
moderation; do not drink before bedtime
Go to bed early
Take a 20 minute nap in the afternoon
Adjust work and education schedules according
to biological sleep realities (e.g., Minnesota high
schools)
Nutrition, Exercise, Sleep
Protein plus exercise plus rest builds muscle
Carbohydrates give you energy to exercise
Exercise
helps to prevent weight gain
grows muscles (which burn more calories than fat)
makes you tired (and want to sleep)
Adaptive Reactions to
Infectious Diseases
Coughs, sneezes, and runny nose
expel, and spread, bacteria, viruses
Fever
kills bacteria
Our aversion to meat and eggs when we
are ill (blood-letting reduces iron)
bacteria thrive on iron
Vomiting and diarrhea (expel, and spread,
toxins)
Old Wives’ tales
How might evolutionary theory explain old
wives tales?
Guess what chicken soup contains?
Sugar and honey can effectively treat deep
puncture wounds
Dog saliva and surface wounds
Eating clay
Summary
Mismatch hypothesis
Food
Exercise
Sleep and rest
Infectious Diseases
“Old wives tales