Super Stimulated How Our Biology Is Being Manipulated to Create Bad Habits – and What We Can Do About It

Modern society is plagued by health epidemics: obesity, record levels of loneliness, increasing mental health problems and various forms of addiction. From the outside, all these issues might not seem related. But a single phenomenon actually ties them all together: superstimuli.

Superstimuli are behaviours, objects and social cues that are exaggerated, unnatural versions of things we have evolved to want and need. This hard-wired evolutionary response is why we lust after airbrushed people online, binge on fake ultra processed food and struggle to stop scrolling on social media, even when it makes us feel bad.

This lack of control isn't because we are weak. It's because powerful companies spend billions creating superstimuli that manipulate our biology for profit, leaving us unhealthy and unhappy as a consequence. The more we do things that are bad for us, the harder it is to stop, and the more money they make.

In Super Stimulated, international bestselling author and scientist Nicklas Brendborg shows how we can resist this hijacking of our natural instincts, recognise superstimulus traps, and take control of our bad habits to live longer, healthier lives.

About the author

Nicklas Brendborg

Product details

• Authors: Nicklas Brendborg
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
• Content: Book
• Product form: Paperback / Softback
• Publication date: 24.06.2025
• Subject: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Natural sciences (general); Guides > Self-help, everyday life > Lifestyle, personal development
• EAN: 9781399735155
• ISBN: 978-1-3997-3515-5
• Pages: 304
• Illustrations: N/A
• Dimensions (packing): 15.2 x 23.2 x 2.4 cm
• Weight (packing): 374 g
• Subjects: Focus, diet, Technology, Habit Tracker, SCIENCE / Life Sciences / Zoology / General, popular science, Big Tech, PSYCHOLOGY / General, Science, Psychology, Health, fitness tracker, weight loss, Smartphones, Zoology & animal sciences, healthy lifestyle, Longevity, Addiction, Concentration, Atomic Habits, Micro Habits, James Clear, Habits, Zoology and animal sciences, New Year, Self Improvement, Good Habits, new year new me, upf, science books, health books, weight loss book, diet book, stolen focus, books to change your life, dopamine nation, Anxious generation, chris van tulleken, ultra processed food, ultra processed people, better habits, living longer, johann hari, healthy eating plan, Weight Loss Guide, marathon training book, books about addiction, books to make you smarter, van tulleken, Xand van Tulleken, books to make my life better, habit calendar, 2026 new year, Anna Lemke, books to help live longer, mental health anxiety depression, food plan, books to make me healthier, books to make you better, habit training, january books, habit diary, habits workbook, healthy eating tracker, Jellyfish Age Backwards, superstimulated, books about habits, books to make you healthier