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The Theory of Cumulative Stress

The document discusses the theory of cumulative stress, which likens a person's health and energy to a bucket of water that is filled by activities like sleep, nutrition, and recovery, but drained by stressors like intense exercise, work/school stress, and relationship problems. Even positive activities that produce value can drain the bucket. The theory notes that stress accumulates over time from small leaks and drains, and that people must regularly refill their bucket through recovery, or eventually their body will force rest through injury or illness when the bucket is empty.

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Mark Anthony Raymundo
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31 views1 page

The Theory of Cumulative Stress

The document discusses the theory of cumulative stress, which likens a person's health and energy to a bucket of water that is filled by activities like sleep, nutrition, and recovery, but drained by stressors like intense exercise, work/school stress, and relationship problems. Even positive activities that produce value can drain the bucket. The theory notes that stress accumulates over time from small leaks and drains, and that people must regularly refill their bucket through recovery, or eventually their body will force rest through injury or illness when the bucket is empty.

Uploaded by

Mark Anthony Raymundo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Theory of Cumulative Stress

Imagine that your health and energy are a bucket of water. In your day-to-day life, there are things that
fill your bucket up. Sleep is one of the main inputs. These are also things like nutrition, meditation,
stretching, laughter, and other forms of recovery.
There are also forces that drain the water from your bucket. These are outputs like lifting weights or
running, stress from work or school, relationship problems, or other forms of stress and anxiety.

The forces that drain your bucket aren't all negative, of course. To live a productive life, it can be
important to have some of those things flowing out of your bucket. Working hard in the gym, at school,
or at the office allows you to produce something of value. But even positive outputs are
still outputs and they drain your energy accordingly.
These outputs are cumulative. Even a little leak can result in significant water loss over time.

Keeping Your Bucket Full


If you want to keep your bucket full, you have two options.
1. Refill your bucket on a regular basis. That means making time for sleep and recovery.
2. Let the stressors in your life accumulate and drain your bucket. Once you hit empty, your body
will force you to rest through injury and illness.
Recovery is not negotiable. You can either make time to rest and rejuvenate now or make time to be
sick and injured later. Keep your bucket full.

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