Super Stimulated
How Our Biology Is Being Manipulated to Create Bad Habits – and What We Can Do About It
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Hodder & Stoughton General Division
Published:26th Jun '25
Should be back in stock very soon
"Highly readable" DAILY MAIL
"Brilliantly unpacks how modern life hijacks our ancient biology." DR JENNA MACCIOCHI
"An informative and engaging read that will appeal to anyone with a bad habit - which must widen the net to everyone." IRISH INDEPENDENT
"Intriguing ... makes some shocking revelations." SUNDAY TIMES
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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.
In Super Stimulated, Nicklas Brendborg brilliantly unpacks how modern life hijacks our ancient biology - designing environments that exploit our instincts and hardwire us for unhealthy habits. As a scientist, I found it both sobering and empowering. This book is a call to awareness - and a toolkit for reclaiming our agency in a world that profits from our overstimulation. -- Dr Jenna Macciochi
In Super Stimulated, Danish science writer Nicklas Brendborg successfully answers an unsettling question - why are many of us fatter, unhappier, and having less sex than our forefathers, despite today's world of unprecedented convenience? [...] While much has been written about this topic recently - Brendborg's take feels fresh. As a molecular scientist, Brendborg's writing is accessible, similar to the Freakonomics style ... This is an informative and engaging read that will appeal to anyone with a bad habit - which must widen the net to everyone. * Irish Independent *
We're in a stimulation arms race ... according to the 29-year-old Danish molecular biologist and wunderkind Nicklas Brendborg ... His thesis is intriguing, and he makes some shocking revelations. * Sunday Times *
Highly readable * Daily Mail *
ISBN: 9781399735148
Dimensions: 236mm x 156mm x 30mm
Weight: 500g
304 pages