Nothing Through Health

Ruby

---

The medicinal message behind “nothing” can have some of the biggest effects on our members and their livelihood. This can be seen with how chronic stress has taken over countless lives in our community here in Boulder. Historically, stress in humans, which is regulated by the hormone cortisol, evolved to help people survive short-term, life-threatening situations. This response was crucial to early humans escaping predators or facing other immediate dangers. Today, however, the threats we face are mainly psychological rather than physical such as finals, midterms, rent, the list could go on and on. Yet with this change in our day to day lives the human body still cannot distinguish between a hungry wolf and an overdue rent notice; it releases cortisol in both situations. Yet unlike an encounter with a predator which only lasts a several minutes, modern stressors persist, keeping cortisol levels elevated for extended periods. This sustained activation leads to chronic stress, during which the body continues producing cortisol even when it is no longer needed. Prolonged exposure to stress suppresses non-essential physiological functions, eventually contributing to serious health problems such as diabetes, immune dysfunction, and cardiovascular disease (Shchaslyvyi, 2024). In addition to the beneficial impacts that “nothing” can have with stress, it can also help with sleep and concentration. One of the core messages of “nothing” is to connect with yourself and not be so tied with technology. This reduction in technology can mainly be seen with a reduction in smartphone use which has been linked to increased objective concentration and a 33% better sleep quality. (Castelo et al., 2025; Zhong et al., 2025). This shows that the core ideas and themes of the “nothing” organization have many positive physiological and psychological effects for our members.