You don’t have to feel good all the time, and you can’t: Part II

Feeling good all the time sounds like a simple wish, but the body doesn’t work that way. When the same pleasant stimulus is there every day without limits, sensitivity starts to fade, and eventually you have to turn it up more and more to get the same feeling.

My article “Every day isn’t a holiday: you don’t have to, can’t and shouldn’t feel good all the time” was recently published in Alkeemia. I’m picking up here with part two and bringing the same idea down into the body: the level of receptors, blood sugar, insulin and everyday choices.

Why feeling good all the time can be bad for the body

All kinds of stimuli act on us through receptors. A receptor is like a small receiver that recognizes a specific signal. It can be a taste, light, sound, sugar, alcohol, the post-workout buzz or anything else that sets something off in the body and the brain.

When a stimulus comes rarely and in a reasonable amount, the body responds to it well. When the same thing comes too often, too long or too strongly, the receiver starts to tire. It no longer responds as sensitively. So what actually happens? To get the same effect, you need a larger amount, a stronger stimulus or longer exposure.

This isn’t only about mood. The same logic helps explain why constantly overdoing food, sweets or comfort can eventually work against the body. When something is there all the time and without limits, we grow more numb to it. A little at first. More later.

Constantly high blood sugar and type 2 diabetes

A good example is type 2 diabetes. Behind it there is often the same mechanism: there is persistently too much of something, and the body becomes less and less sensitive to it. In this case, the “something” is a persistently high blood sugar level.

When you eat a lot and move little, blood sugar often stays too high. The body responds with insulin. Insulin is a hormone that helps nutrients in the blood get into the cells. Put simply, it helps open the cell’s “gates” so that energy can get to where it’s needed.

But when blood sugar is persistently abnormally high, insulin levels in the blood are chronically high too. The receptors on your cells are exposed to insulin all the time and, over time, become less sensitive. This is how insulin resistance develops.

A simple truth: when there is constantly a lot of something, we become insensitive to it. This is true at the level of the cell and at the level of the person.

The consequence is an unpleasant vicious circle. There is plenty of glucose and insulin in the blood, but the cells can’t get the energy the way they should. The body still feels hungry. The person eats more. Some of the glucose goes into fat cells rather than to where it’s needed for energy at that moment. This is how metabolic syndrome can keep progressing and eventually culminate in type 2 diabetes.

What can you do with this knowledge in real life?

This text isn’t saying that feeling good is bad. Quite the opposite. Good food, rest, training and pleasure are part of a normal life. The question is frequency and amount. The body needs variety: effort and recovery, eating and pauses, comfort and discomfort.

If you instantly smooth over every small discomfort, your tolerance disappears. If you fix every bout of tiredness with something sweet, the body starts to expect that pattern. If you fill every empty moment with a stimulus, whether it’s food, a screen or constant stimulation, a calm state starts to feel foreign.

A practical start is simple. Look at where in your day there is an automatic “give the body something nice right now” moment. Is it evening snacking? A sweet drink? Constant coffee? Late-night screen time? You don’t have to take everything away. Sometimes it’s enough to insert a small pause and ask: do I need this right now, or am I just looking for a quick feeling?

A better choice than feeling good all the time: moderation and pauses

Moderation sounds boring, but for the body it’s a very powerful tool. Receptors stay more sensitive when the stimulus isn’t maxed out all the time. The same goes for nutrition, training and recovery.

If you eat, eat real food and notice when you feel full. If you train, really train, but let your body recover too. If you rest, rest in a way that lets your nervous system truly calm down. You don’t have to do everything at once. A single adjusted habit already gives the body a clearer signal.

Honestly, the hardest part is that many harmful patterns don’t seem harmful at first. They feel pleasant. Only later does it become clear that you need more and more to get the same pleasure. That’s why it’s worth putting up with some discomfort now and then. Not as punishment, but to preserve sensitivity.

FAQ

Is feeling good bad, then?

No. What’s bad is using the same source of good feeling constantly and without limits. The body needs variety, not endless turning up of the dial.

How can you tell you’re getting too much of a stimulus?

One sign is that the same amount no longer has the same effect. Another sign is automatic need: you want something not because of hunger, need or enjoyment, but because going without feels bad.

Does this apply only to sugar?

No. Sugar and insulin resistance are simply a clear example. The same principle can show up in other habits too, wherever the body or mind gets one and the same stimulus too often.

Author: Janar Rückenberg

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