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Load

Life makes demands. How does the body respond?

This project uses “load” as an umbrella term for the demands life places on the body and mind. Exercise, cognitive tasks and environmental changes are measured in different ways; they cannot simply be added into a medical score.

Editorial preview · Scientific review pending
01

Begin with the demand

Training, a demanding task and a disrupted routine create different demands. In this project, load is an umbrella term that helps connect these contexts; it is not a single established measure.

02

Context changes the question

Sport recovery frameworks consider training alongside other life demands. Predictive regulation offers another way to think about how resources meet anticipated needs.[1][2]

03

What this term does not tell us

These demands have different units and time scales. A list of busy days cannot be added into a clinical score. Start by naming the demand, its duration and the function you want to understand.

Load is not necessarily harmful. Intensity, duration and individual context all matter.
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Core reading

  1. Allostasis: a model of predictive regulation ↗

    Peter Sterling
    Physiology & Behavior · 2012

    Study record & citations
  2. Recovery and Performance in Sport: Consensus Statement ↗

    Michael Kellmann · Maurizio Bertollo · Laurent Bosquet · Michel Brink · Aaron J. Coutts · et al.
    International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance · 2018

    Study record & citations
Editorial & review record
Content typeScientific concept
Last updatedv0.1 · Editorial draft

An author and scientific reviewer have not yet been appointed. Names and dates will be published when the work is completed.

Founded and supported by Resilio.

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CONNECTED IDEAS

Where to go next.

AllostasisMaintaining stability through change.RecoveryRegaining capacity after a disturbance.Allostatic LoadRepeated adaptation may carry a cost.

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FoundationsLoadFoundationsAllostasisFoundationsAllostatic LoadFoundationsRecoveryFoundationsPhysiological ReserveFoundationsResilienceFeaturesAllostatic Load: The Hidden Cost of AdaptationFeaturesRecovery Is Not RestMethods & projectEvidence grading & methodsMethods & projectEditorial & scientific standardsMethods & projectAbout the projectResearch · 1993Stress and the individual. Mechanisms leading to diseaseResearch · 1998Protective and damaging effects of stress mediatorsResearch · 2003The cumulative cost of additional wakefulness: dose-response effects on neurobehavioral functions and sleep physiology from chronic sleep restriction and total sleep deprivationResearch · 2010Greater cardiovascular responses to laboratory mental stress are associated with poor subsequent cardiovascular risk status: a meta-analysis of prospective evidenceResearch · 2011Stress- and Allostasis-Induced Brain PlasticityResearch · 2012Allostasis: a model of predictive regulationResearch · 2015Recovery from job stress: The stressor-detachment model as an integrative frameworkResearch · 2016Physical Resilience in Older Adults: Systematic Review and Development of an Emerging ConstructResearch · 2017A Meta-Analysis on Antecedents and Outcomes of Detachment from WorkResearch · 2018Recovery and Performance in Sport: Consensus StatementResearch · 2022Allostatic Load Measurement: A Systematic Review of Reviews, Database Inventory, and Considerations for Neighborhood Research