Eco de Geus on exercise physiology and measuring it outside the lab

Why do some people love to do sports and to exercise, while others don't? Is it talent, passion—or something deeper in our biology? In this episode we dive into the fascinating science behind why we exercise (or don’t), and what our bodies have to say about it. Our guest, prof. dr. Eco de Geus, professor of Biological Psychology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, has spent years studying twins to untangle the roles of genetics, physiology, and stress in shaping our relationship with exercise. How much of our athletic ability is inherited? What does the complex relationship between stress and exercise entail? And what can ambulatory stress assessment (data derived from wearables) tell us about our physiological stress response in daily life? Listen to the episode to dive deeper into this complex and interesting topic. We hope you enjoy it.

Highlights of the episode:

Minute (01:35) – Introducing physiology

Minute (10:10) – Twin studies; genetics vs. environment

Minute (17:55) - Exercise as a stressor

Minute (24:20) – Using wearables for data collection

For more on Eco's work at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Stress in Action, check out:

• Stress in Action https://stress-in-action.nl/
• Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam https://vu.nl/en/about-vu/faculties/faculty-of-behavioural-and-movement-sciences/departments/biological-psychology
• Netherlands Twin Register https://tweelingenregister.vu.nl/
• VU-AMS https://vu-ams.nl/
• Wearables: listen to the episode with Matthijs Noordzij https://open.spotify.com/episode/6TAmVFpfWoIlDWIYWOZOLz?si=KryyEOKvRguNhD76juHoYQ

Credits:

Host: Marcos Ross

Production: Merlijn van der Geer and Anouk Weverling

Supported by: Myrte Schoenmakers, Artemis Stefani, Merel van den Berg and Noa van Zwieten

Music: Marcos Ross