Feats of superhuman strength are impossible in everyday life activities; however, they become a reality when one is put in a situation that triggers our “fight or flight” response.
In extreme situations, our bodies are prepped for either completing amazing feats or escaping from a threatening situation. It is believed that the “fight or flight” response has developed due to the precarious living situations in ancient times, when humans had to either flee from predatory animals or fight to the death to survive.
When one finds oneself in a life or death situation, one needs one’s body to be in its best form; meaning one’s muscles and reflexes have to be ready to perform beyond their usual capacity, and one’s senses must be alert and in tip-top shape to help one survive.
Last year, a young woman in Virginia, USA, achieved a heroic act by saving the life of her father. Her father was in their home’s garage working on his car; he was under the car when suddenly a jack that was holding the car up slipped, causing the car to crush the man underneath it. Lauren Kornacki, the daughter, found her father pinned to the ground and unresponsive; she proceeded to lift up the car, pull him out, and then give him CPR(1).
The father was soon recovering in a hospital; if it were not for his daughter, he may have not survived. However, how is it possible that a normal 22‑year‑old woman could lift a car?
During a stressful or fearful situation such as Lauren’s, seeing her father pinned beneath a car, the hypothalamus is activated. The hypothalamus is mainly responsible for maintaining the body’s homeostasis(2), or stable physiological balance. The hypothalamus has a direct connection to the adrenal medulla—the center of the adrenal glands—which releases the hormone epinephrine, aka adrenaline.
The theory behind the adrenaline rush is that we typically only use a small percentage of our muscles’ capabilities. When adrenaline is pumped into our circulation, blood is shunted away from our guts and to our muscles; this, in turn, means more oxygen getting into our muscles.
Adrenaline also facilitates the conversion of our body’s stored energy source, glycogen, to fuel in the form of glucose. The combination of increased oxygen and energy levels strengthens our muscles beyond normal levels.
It was Earl Sutherland, a biochemist, who found that adrenaline accelerates the breakdown of sugar in the liver to provide quick energy during moments of stress. He also discovered later on that the hormone stimulates individual cells in two steps.
Firstly, it latches onto a receptor on the cell surface. The receptor then triggers the release inside the cell of a second signal: a molecule called cyclic AMP(3) (cAMP). Sutherland then determined that cAMP has a larger role, serving as an intermediary for many hormones regulating metabolism in both simple and complex organisms. For this important breakthrough, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1971.
Gordon Lynch, a physiologist at the University of Melbourne, Australia, who has been researching the chemical pathways that influence muscle strength said that “the release of adrenaline promotes blood flow to working muscles, speeds up metabolism, and enhances the capacity for muscles to contract with more force and power than what we might normally require to perform most of the tasks we perform during daily living.
It is possible that, during situations of extreme stress and danger, the adrenaline rush enables us to unlock a muscle’s true potential that might otherwise not be achieved voluntarily.” He goes on, explaining that adrenaline does this by gearing up more “motor units”, nerves, and the muscle fibers they control, than are normally used all at once.
“When performing most tasks, we are actually only recruiting a small number of motor units, or a sufficient number to complete the task as required. More demanding, intense activities require that more motor units be recruited. In many cases, we may never actually recruit all of the motor units available, unless we are placed in rare situations of “fight or flight”.”
When you undergo an adrenaline rush, your senses are affected in various ways. Let us say you are being attacked by someone and this situation urges you to switch to the adrenaline mode. You will notice that your vision is somewhat distorted, which occurs because you are only focused on the threat; things thus appear larger or closer than they actually are.
Besides having your vision distorted, your peripheral vision can drop away and all you end up seeing is the threat. Your auditory sense can be compromised because every brain cell you have is focused on the threat. Therefore, even if a loud sound occurs next to you, it is very likely that you may not register it.
Your pain tolerance increases as well; you do not feel things that would normally have you wailing although the damage is done. You may feel it to a lesser extent or not at all, but it will definitely be there the next day. Even though many people admire young women lifting cars and doing other extraordinary acts, after the adrenaline rush they are left with torn muscles and tendons, and perhaps more severe injuries.
After you are out of danger, your body starts to calm down, returning to its original state. We may live our whole lives without experiencing an adrenaline rush, but some people actually seek it out for the thrill. Adrenaline addicts are daredevils practicing extreme sports or doing extreme activities just to feel that rush. For the remaining majority who are not thrill seekers, keep in mind that even though we do not turn green and triple in size, each one of us has a dormant Hulk within oneself, waiting to be awakened in extreme situations.
Glossary
- CPR stands for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, which is an emergency procedure for a person whose heart has stopped, or is no longer breathing.
- Hypothalamus is a portion of the brain that contains a number of small nuclei with a variety of functions.
- Cyclic AMP (cAMP) is the intracellular agent which mediates the action of many hormones on the target cell.
References
www.labspaces.net
www.straightdope.com
edition.cnn.com
iceskatingresources.org
www.lifeslittlemysteries.com
news.sciencemag.org
www.psychologytoday.com
Cover image by Freepik