Adaptation of the human body to the conditions of the Far North is part of the adaptation problem of human adaptation to various natural factors. Adaptation to the conditions of the Far North, developing according to the general laws of adaptation to various natural factors and adaptation to new environmental factors in general, is also manifested in the emergence of specific adaptive reactions caused by exposure, again, to the specific factor of high latitudes

It is generally accepted that the peculiarities of adaptation of the human body to the conditions of the Far North are determined by the influence of special natural factors in these areas. Natural conditions in the Far North are much more difficult for human health than in the middle zone. The climate here is well known. But it’s not just the harsh climate and the special lighting regime (polar day or polar night). In the Far North, the human body is affected by cosmic factors, since the Earth’s magnetic field in these latitudes protects the Earth from them much worse than in middle and low latitudes. Therefore, in the Arctic, conditions are not just more difficult due to natural and cosmic factors than in the middle zone, but differ fundamentally from them. Here, many factors affect the human body that do not act at all in the middle zone.

The functioning of a healthy person’s body is always in accordance with external conditions. Therefore, some northerners, who are well adapted to the extreme conditions of the Far North, have many body indicators significantly different from those in the middle zone. In other words, the mid-latitude norm is not suitable for well-adapted northerners. They have their own norm, which they came to as a result of long-term adaptation to northern extreme conditions.

Successful adaptation of the newcomer population of the Far North is an indispensable condition for their good health. Many diseases (cardiovascular and nervous systems, respiratory organs, liver, etc.) in the Far North occur at an earlier age and are more severe than in the middle zone. Often the cause of these diseases here is different than in the middle zone. It is due to the fact that a person does not adapt well to his new natural and cosmic conditions. This means that the body cannot adjust its functioning to an optimal mode, so its organs and systems work under tension, in overload mode, which leads to the emergence and development of chronic diseases. Thus, most diseases (especially chronic ones) in the Far North are the result of the fact that the human body has not adapted to the difficult conditions of the Far North, or, in other words, they are the result of maladaptation.

When studying the influence of natural factors on the human body, researchers face significant difficulties due to the following circumstances:

1) the human body is simultaneously affected by many meteorological factors, of which it is extremely difficult to determine the leading one that determines the nature of adaptive reactions;

2) different adaptive reactions of the human body, depending both on each person’s belonging to the aborigines of certain natural zones, and on gender, age, belonging to a certain constitutional type, and other individual characteristics of the person.

When a person migrates to the Far North, the circulatory system is one of the first to be included in the adaptation reaction and plays an important role in maintaining the homeostasis of the body in new environmental conditions. Being an important limiting link on which the final adaptive result largely depends, the circulatory system can also serve as a marker of the general adaptation process. Therefore, studying the problem of physiology and pathology of adaptation mechanisms of the cardiovascular system in the Far North is of paramount importance. Researchers who have studied the adaptation of the cardiovascular system in the high latitudes of the Earth note that human migration to these areas is accompanied in some people by various subjective disorders of cardiac origin: shortness of breath, especially during fast walking and physical activity, palpitations and pain in the heart area. The largest number of complaints noted in the first months showed that the interaction of visitors with a complex of factors in the Far North is accompanied by a complex restructuring of regulatory, physiological and metabolic processes and the development of a state of peculiar tension. The emergence of cardiological research in the Arctic was facilitated by practical doctors - participants in the first high-latitude expeditions. Already at that time they knew well that the success of the expedition largely depended on the state of health and, in particular, the cardiovascular system of its participants, and they selected healthy and hardy people to join it.

Cold is one of the main environmental factors in the Far North, to which the human body and its cardiovascular system have to adapt. Low temperatures, combined with high wind speeds, affect exposed areas of the body surface and the vast vascular and receptor area of ​​the lungs. The position that cold determines the problem of peripheral vascular spasm served as the basis for the widespread, at one time, opinion about the fatal hypertensive effect of a cold climate. A. Barton and O. Edholm (1957) indicate an increase in blood pressure in humans in cold conditions. Hypertensive reactions in new residents of Norilsk were described by A.T. Pshonik et al. (1965, 1969), N.S. Arutyunova (1966). The high prevalence of hypertension among the population of the Arctic was observed by Yu.F. Menshikov (1965).

On the contrary, other researchers have found that the newcomer population of the Arctic has a lower level of blood pressure and a lower prevalence of hypertension than the population of mid-latitudes. Ambiguous changes in blood pressure are also noted among winterers in Antarctica. There is evidence of both a decrease in their blood pressure and the absence of significant changes in the level of blood pressure during wintering, as well as of hypertensive reactions. Hypertension is especially severe in people migrating to the Arctic with already developed disease. Materials from the dissections of medical institutions in the city of Murmansk indicate that among the total number of deaths from cardiovascular diseases, hypertension was recorded much more often than in other cities in the middle zone.

In humans, in cold conditions, an increase in resistance in the peripheral parts of the bloodstream is observed. It has been shown that the process of adaptation to the conditions of the Far North is accompanied by the development of morphofunctional changes in the pulmonary circulation, often the formation of the syndrome of primary northern arterial hypertension of the pulmonary circulation and “Magadan pneumopathy,” which is considered as the basis of chronic nonspecific lung diseases in the population.

Low blood pressure levels have been found among the Eskimos of Labrador and Greenland. In people over 60 years of age, systolic pressure levels above 140 mmHg were not observed. and not a single case of arterial hypertension has been described. A study of 842 Alaskan Eskimo men aged 17 to 53 years did not reveal a significant increase in blood pressure with age. Thus, at the age of up to 20 years, the average systolic pressure was 98, and at the age of up to 45 years - 104 mmHg. I. S. Kandror (1962, 1968) also reported a low level of blood pressure among the aborigines (Chukchi and Eskimos) of the Arctic. Alaskan Eskimos show little or no increase in blood pressure with age.

“Cold hypoxia” develops in the body. According to M.A. Yakimenko, in the compensation phase, reactions characteristic of hypoxic hypoxia are formed in the body: the utilization of oxygen from the inhaled air and the oxygen transport function of the blood increases), the coefficient of oxygen utilization by tissues increases. The works show that the process of human adaptation in the Far North is accompanied by the formation of a symptom complex similar to chronic hypoxia with corresponding changes in the respiratory and circulatory systems aimed at “fighting” for oxygen.

According to I.S. Kandrora (1968), the basic metabolism among the indigenous inhabitants of the North - the Chukchi and Eskimos, who worked at enterprises and institutions of the Main Northern Sea Route and lived in the same conditions as the population of a given working village, ranged from 108 to 140%; On average for the entire group, the basal metabolic rate was 121%.

To understand the biological meaning of the reactions, it is appropriate to recall I.P. Pavlov, who believed that the body has general and specific functions and needs. The general need of the body in the cold is the constriction of blood vessels, and the particular need is the need to warm the ears and cheeks, that is, to dilate the skin vessels. In this case, a struggle arises between general and private needs.

According to data, vasodilation after constriction is of great importance for protecting the body surface from cooling. G.M. Danishevsky (1970) believed that intermittent blood flow has a positive effect. In fact, constant dilation of blood vessels over a long period of time would ultimately lead to greater heat loss and faster cooling of the body.

As work experience in the North increases, a more rapid and complete restoration of the lumen width of peripheral vessels in areas of the body exposed to cooling is observed. In all likelihood, in the conditions of the North, under the influence of a long-acting intense cold stimulus (-15 -20°C), a restructuring of physical thermoregulation occurs in the direction of accelerating the restoration of blood flow in cooled areas of the body, which leads to an increase in the heat-protective properties of the body. Under the influence of weak cold stimuli in certain parts of the body (air temperature 0°+5°C), no such restructuring was noted (N.I. Bobrov et al., 1979). In the works of I.A. Arnoldi (1962) also did not observe the above phenomena in studies of cooling the upper extremities in humans with water (+5°C).

To identify changes in the skin temperature of the subjects, a functional cooling test was carried out, which consisted of a single cooling of the upper or lower extremities with water at a temperature of +5°C for 30 minutes (N.I. Bobrov et al., 1979). In the vast majority of subjects with a short period of work in the North, the skin temperature of the upper extremities dropped to +7°C when cooled. For the majority of people with work experience in the North from 1 to 2 years, the skin temperature of the cooled areas (upper limbs) decreased over the same period of time to +9°C, +11°C. And finally, in the vast majority of people who worked in the North for more than 2 years, the skin temperature almost at the end of cooling dropped only to +9°C, +14°C.

Activation of thermoregulation centers is carried out due to the excitation of cold receptors, which in rats can account for up to 86% of all thermoreceptors (Kozyreva T.V., Yakimenko M.A., 1979).

These receptors respond to rapid cooling with a phase reaction of increased impulses (Minut-Sorokhtina O.P., 1979). Moreover, the thermoregulatory reaction, namely an increase in heat production, can develop only with cooling of peripheral parts of the body, for example, human limbs. This was demonstrated by VanSomeren (1982), who, when people were completely immersed in water at 29°C, observed a drop in body temperature of 0.5°-1.4°C. However, if the hands and feet were additionally cooled with water at a temperature of 12°C, then general hypothermia did not develop.

When the ambient temperature is comfortable and there is no activation of skin receptors, thermoregulatory reactions can also be activated when deep tissues are cooled. This was shown in experiments by Jessen (1981), conducted on goats with implanted heat exchangers, which made it possible to change the temperature of the “core” of the body while keeping the temperature of the “shell” constant.

Modern man - Homo Sapiens (“reasonable man”) as a new biological species appeared on the surface relatively recently (see article ““). Anthropologists continue to debate whether this happened in one place (and which one?), or in several places; but it is obvious that there were very few such places, and they were all located in areas with a warm climate (this is evidenced by the names of the places where the remains of ancient people were found: the island of Java, Southeast China, East Africa, the Mediterranean and others). It is clear that, for example, a person could not have appeared on a narrow strip of land between the sea and a glacier in Greenland - he could only move there later, adapting to these completely different local conditions.

This is how medical geographer B.B. describes it. Prokhorov, the impact of natural conditions on the settlement of a territory: The nature of human settlement on the surface of the Earth from the first steps of the formation of human society was limited by environmental factors. The territory where people (clan or community) settled had to have sufficient food supplies, have a convenient strategic location, be characterized by a mild climate, have suitable conditions for the construction of dwellings, and the like. As such free places remained fewer and fewer, violent clashes broke out because of them, and the vanquished were forced to settle in areas less favorable for their usual way of life.

In some periods, mass population migrations were associated with sharp climate fluctuations. Under the influence of historical and natural disasters, the expanses of the tundra, northern taiga, highlands, and a number of other ecological niches were developed, for adaptation in which people “paid” with the health and lives of many of their relatives, who died from generation to generation before the newcomers completely “fit in.” » into new living conditions and achieved amazing perfection of adaptation to extreme conditions.

Human adaptation

Adaptation (from the Latin “adaptare” - to adapt) of a person to the natural environment can occur in two ways: biological and extra-biological.

Biological adaptation is manifested in changes in the human body itself: body structure, skin color, hair, and so on.

But a much larger role is played by extrabiological adaptation - what is often called culture in the broad sense of the term. Culture - in this case, is understood as everything that is created by humanity: technology, housing, science, state, family, art, religion and much more. Some of the creations of man help to isolate oneself, to protect oneself from the environment: these are, first of all, housing and clothing. Others help change the environment, such as creating irrigation systems and farming in desert areas, or draining part of the sea (as in the Netherlands), and so on.

But in fact, the process of adaptation is more complicated: a person not only changes his environment, but at the same time he himself changes; he adapts his behavior to the requirements of this (already changed by him!) environment. For example, for a nomadic pastoralist, his wagon and horse are parts of his culture, ways of adapting to the environment, and annual seasonal migrations (from summer to winter pastures) are part of the traditional way of life (and also

UDC 911.3:504.75

HUMAN ADAPTATION TO NATURAL CONDITIONS AND ASSESSMENT OF COMFORTABLE LIVING OF THE POPULATION

B.I. Kochurov,

leading

A. V. Antipova,

Researcher, Institute of Geography RAS, [email protected]

S. K. Kostovska,

Leading Researcher, Institute of Geography RAS, [email protected]

V. O. Stulyshapka,

Moscow Pedagogical State University, [email protected]

V. A. Lobkovsky,

Researcher, Institute of Geography RAS, [email protected]

The human needs for the living environment are considered, individual criteria and indicators of human vital activity as a biosocial organism and comfort of living are determined.

Needs of human habitat, to determine some criteria and indicators of human activity as a biosocial organism and comfortable accommodation are considered.

Key words: human environmental needs, environmental conditions of the territory, environmental criteria and indicators.

Key words: environmental requirements, environmental conditions of the territory, ecological criteria and indicators.

Modern man has practically mastered the entire earth's space, from the polar ice of the Great Arctic and Antarctic to hot tropical deserts, from the taiga forests of Siberia and Canada to the equatorial South American and African jungles.

Having emerged as an independent biological species several million years ago and subsequently receiving the name Homo sapiens - “reasonable man”, this species has gone through a long path of biophysiological development, social evolution, cultural, historical and ethnocultural improvement, reaching not only its significant numbers (exceeding 6 billion threshold), but also a high civilizational level and a wide variety of its social formations.

As a result, modern man (and humanity), in all its diversity, can be considered and studied as a rather complex biosocial organism, possessing a very wide range of its vital (ecological) requirements for environmental conditions, and at the same time preserving the natural qualities of the environment as the basis for these requirements , which constituted the main features of its original, primitive ecological niche in the system of earthly nature. Taking possession of vast terrestrial spaces, involving various types of natural resources in their economic turnover, constructing arrays of residential and industrial buildings, a network of roads and product pipelines, man has significantly changed (anthropogenized) the natural environment, in a number of places giving it properties that are environmentally unfavorable for himself.

Hence, at the present stage of human development, a huge interest in the study and

determination of the ecological properties of various territories and regions of the Earth, and the terms “ecology” and “ecological” themselves came out of their original, narrower, biological circle of use and occupied a fairly wide scope of application in social and scientific fields, including geography, where a special direction arose - ecodiagnostics, which studies the ecological state of certain territories from the point of view of their favorable compliance with vital human needs.

It is characteristic that with a wide variety of criteria and indicators used in determining the ecological situation of individual territories, the basis for such a definition is the characteristics of the original, natural ecological niche of a person. D.V. Panfilov, a scientist biologist and geographer, in his work on the adaptive life needs of humans, called the littoral (tidal zone) of tropical islands the primary ecological niche of humans and gave the following characteristics of these territories. The climate here is warm, air and water temperatures rarely drop below 22-24 °C. Coastal vegetation (thickets of bushes and palm trees) provide good protection from the sun and wind. Repeated low tides twice a day make it possible to collect food (marine invertebrates and fish) that is moderately salty and contains iodine and trace elements. Open seashores are also beneficial for human health because there are fewer various infections here, since sea water and air have bactericidal properties.

Numerous scientific studies by bioclimatologists, medical geographers, and physiologists define the comfort zone as a set of external conditions under which a healthy person feels best. The parameters of comfortable conditions for humans are defined quite well and have the following values: air temperature 18-26 °C, relative

Table 1

Combinations of indicators of temperature, air humidity, wind speed [for 7]

Air temperature, °C Relative humidity, % Wind speed, m/s

body humidity 30-60%, air speed 0.1-0.2 m/s. Combinations of these parameters determine a person’s thermal sensations, and with their different ratios, a naked person experiences the same comfortable feeling N (Table 1).

Man, in the course of his historical development, mastering the natural landscapes of the Earth, including environmentally unfavorable (extreme) ones, did not significantly change his original, biological requirements for the environment. At the same time, according to anthropological studies, a person exhibits a number of morphophysiological signs that indicate the adaptation of his body to changing environmental conditions. In accordance with the results of research by T. P. Alekseeva, under the influence of environmental conditions, changes are observed mainly in the structure of the body, physiological characteristics, basic metabolism, depending on the temperature factor, the mineral composition of the skeleton, formed under the influence of a geochemical factor, in the role of nutrition, etc. . n. Such adaptive characteristics are most clearly visible among the population of indigenous peoples of tropical latitudes and arid zones, residents of the highlands and the far north, since in their daily life and economic practice they are most closely related to the characteristics of specific natural conditions, in which they are quite clearly identified. The adaptability of the human body is manifested as a trait inherent in the entire species Homo sapiens.

As for the main centers of modern civilization (mainly large urban agglomerations), here modern man ensures the fulfillment of his environmental requirements for the environment and creates comfortable living conditions for himself with the help of the most powerful technical means (power plants, housing, transport, etc.) and complex socio-economic system of economic management. At the same time, the nature and extent of the use of technology in specific landscapes are largely determined by the “deviation” of the natural conditions of the developed territory from the “standard”, which are the natural, biological requirements of man for the natural environment. The original environmental standards of human existence remain in force. It is enough to point out that during the heating season it is considered normal to maintain the temperature in the apartment at 18-23 °C, and in the summer heat in industrial premises it is recommended not to allow the temperature to rise beyond 25-27 °C. Human water availability should also be held to very strict standards. Thus, according to world data (World Watch), the minimum level of water consumption, taking into account economic load and environmental safety, is

about 3 m3 per day, or 1 thousand m3 per year per person.

With the development of modern world civilization, man has significantly expanded the range of his environmental needs, by including in it, in addition to natural, biophysiological needs, the need for the existence of a number of conditions that ensure all the diversity of his modern economic, socio-political and cultural life. The most complete list of these needs is given in the work of N. F. Reimers, where the author identifies six groups of human needs.

A. Biological (anatomical-physiological, physical or natural) human needs.

B. Ethological-behavioral (psychological) needs of a person.

B. Ethnic human needs.

D. Social and socio-psychological needs of a person.

D. Labor needs.

E. Human economic needs.

The general list of all groups of needs includes 56 qualitative group differences, since “the variety of human needs... is almost limitless.” At the same time, “to improve people’s well-being, it is necessary to optimize all subsystems and element blocks of systems for meeting people’s needs, taking into account the systemic whole... greater than the sum of individual needs.”

In specific ecodiagnostic (ecological-geographical) studies, the list of human needs given by N. F. Reimers is used to establish the most important regional criteria and indicators that determine those unfavorable environmental properties for humans, which are interpreted as individual environmental problems or their territorial complexes - environmental situations.

In a number of cases, when assessing the environmental conditions of individual territories and depending on the scale of research, a wider set of indicators is used that characterize the natural, environmental and social comfort of life of the population. The comfort of living (life) of the population is defined as a measure of the subjective feeling and objective state of well-being, formed under the influence of a set of various conditions that are most favorable for the life and economic activity of a person (population) living in a certain territory. When considering environmental comfort, a set of conditions and their parameters are taken into account that satisfy the basic physiological needs of a person (among them natural-climatic, geological-geomorphological, complex landscape and other conditions).

Rice. 1. Natural and climatic conditions of life of the population on the territory of Russia and neighboring states [on 12]

ANTIPOVA A.V., KOSTOVSKA S.K., KOCHUROV B.I., LOBKOVSKY V.A. - 2006

STRATEGY FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE ARCTIC IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBAL RESOURCE AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES AND CHALLENGES

KOSTOVSKA S.K., KOCHUROV B.I., LOBKOVSKY V.A., SLIPENCHUK M.V. - 2015

The grandiose inventions of the human mind never cease to amaze, there are no limits to imagination. But what nature has created for many centuries surpasses the most creative ideas and plans. Nature has created more than one and a half million species of living individuals, each of which is individual and unique in its forms, physiology, and adaptability to life. Examples of adaptation of organisms to constantly changing living conditions on the planet are examples of the wisdom of the creator and a constant source of problems for biologists to solve.

Adaptation means adaptability or habituation. This is the process of gradual degeneration of the physiological, morphological or psychological functions of a creature in a changed environment. Both individuals and entire populations undergo changes.

A striking example of direct and indirect adaptation is the survival of flora and fauna in the zone of increased radiation around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Direct adaptability is characteristic of those individuals that managed to survive, get used to it and begin to reproduce; some did not survive the test and died (indirect adaptation).

Since the conditions of existence on Earth are constantly changing, the processes of evolution and adaptation in living nature are also a continuous process.

A recent example of adaptation is a change in the habitat of a colony of green Mexican aratinga parrots. Recently, they changed their usual habitat and settled in the very mouth of the Masaya volcano, in an environment constantly saturated with highly concentrated sulfur gas. Scientists have not yet provided an explanation for this phenomenon.

Types of adaptation

A change in the entire form of existence of an organism is a functional adaptation. An example of adaptation, when a change in conditions leads to mutual adaptation of living organisms to each other, is a correlative adaptation or co-adaptation.

Adaptation can be passive, when the functions or structure of the subject occur without his participation, or active, when he consciously changes his habits to match the environment (examples of people’s adaptation to natural conditions or society). There are cases when a subject adapts the environment to suit his needs - this is objective adaptation.

Biologists divide types of adaptation according to three criteria:

• Morphological.
• Physiological.
• Behavioral or psychological.

Examples of adaptation of animals or plants in their pure form are rare; most cases of adaptation to new conditions occur in mixed species.

Morphological adaptations: examples

Morphological changes are changes in the shape of the body, individual organs, or the entire structure of a living organism that occurred during the process of evolution.

Below are morphological adaptations, examples from the animal and plant world, which we consider as a matter of course:

• Degeneration of leaves into spines in cacti and other plants of arid regions.
• Turtle shell.
• Streamlined body shapes of inhabitants of reservoirs.

Physiological adaptations: examples

A physiological adaptation is a change in a number of chemical processes occurring inside the body.

• The release of a strong odor by flowers to attract insects contributes to dust.
• The state of suspended animation that protozoa are capable of entering allows them to maintain vital activity after many years. The oldest bacteria capable of reproducing is 250 years old.
• Accumulation of subcutaneous fat, which is converted into water, in camels.

Behavioral (psychological) adaptations

Examples of human adaptation are more related to the psychological factor. Behavioral characteristics are common to flora and fauna. Thus, in the process of evolution, changes in temperature conditions cause some animals to hibernate, birds to fly south to return in the spring, trees to shed their leaves and slow down the movement of sap. The instinct to choose the most suitable partner for procreation drives the behavior of animals during the mating season. Some northern frogs and turtles freeze completely during the winter and thaw and come to life when the weather gets warmer.

Factors driving the need for change

Any adaptation process is a response to environmental factors that lead to environmental change. Such factors are divided into biotic, abiotic and anthropogenic.

Biotic factors are the influence of living organisms on each other, when, for example, one species disappears, which serves as food for another.

Abiotic factors are changes in the surrounding inanimate nature, when climate, soil composition, water availability, and solar activity cycles change. Physiological adaptations, examples of the influence of abiotic factors - equatorial fish that can breathe both in water and on land. They have adapted well to conditions where drying up of rivers is a common occurrence.

Anthropogenic factors are the influence of human activity that changes the environment.

Adaptations to the environment

• Illumination. In plants, these are separate groups that differ in their need for sunlight. Light-loving heliophytes live well in open spaces. In contrast to them are sciophytes: plants of forest thickets that feel good in shaded places. Among the animals there are also individuals that are designed for an active lifestyle at night or underground.
• Air temperature. On average, for all living things, including humans, the optimal temperature environment is considered to be from 0 to 50 o C. However, life exists in almost all climatic regions of the Earth.

Contrasting examples of adaptation to abnormal temperatures are described below.

Arctic fish do not freeze thanks to the production of a unique antifreeze protein in the blood, which prevents the blood from freezing.

The simplest microorganisms have been found in hydrothermal vents, where the water temperature exceeds boiling degrees.

Hydrophyte plants, that is, those that live in or near water, die even with a slight loss of moisture. Xerophytes, on the contrary, are adapted to live in arid regions and die in high humidity. Among animals, nature has also worked to adapt to aquatic and non-aquatic environments.

Human adaptation

Man's ability to adapt is truly enormous. The secrets of human thinking are far from fully revealed, and the secrets of people's adaptive ability will remain a mysterious topic for scientists for a long time. The superiority of Homo sapiens over other living beings lies in the ability to consciously change their behavior to suit the demands of the environment or, conversely, the world around them to suit their needs.

The flexibility of human behavior manifests itself every day. If you give the task: “give examples of people’s adaptation,” the majority begins to remember exceptional cases of survival in these rare cases, and in new circumstances it is typical for a person every day. We try on a new environment at the moment of birth, in kindergarten, school, in a team, or when moving to another country. It is this state of acceptance of new sensations by the body that is called stress. Stress is a psychological factor, but nevertheless, many physiological functions change under its influence. In the case when a person accepts a new environment as positive for himself, the new state becomes habitual, otherwise stress threatens to become protracted and lead to a number of serious diseases.

Human coping mechanisms

There are three types of human adaptation:

• Physiological. The simplest examples are acclimatization and adaptation to changes in time zones or daily work patterns. In the process of evolution, different types of people were formed, depending on the territorial place of residence. Arctic, alpine, continental, desert, equatorial types differ significantly in physiological indicators.
• Psychological adaptation. This is a person’s ability to find moments of understanding with people of different psychotypes, in a country with a different level of mentality. Homo sapiens tend to change their established stereotypes under the influence of new information, special occasions, and stress.
• Social adaptation. A type of addiction that is unique to humans.

All adaptive types are closely related to each other; as a rule, any change in habitual existence causes in a person the need for social and psychological adaptation. Under their influence, mechanisms of physiological changes come into play, which also adapt to new conditions.

This mobilization of all body reactions is called adaptation syndrome. New reactions of the body appear in response to sudden changes in the environment. At the first stage - anxiety - there is a change in physiological functions, changes in the functioning of metabolism and systems. Next, protective functions and organs (including the brain) are activated and begin to turn on their protective functions and hidden capabilities. The third stage of adaptation depends on individual characteristics: a person either joins a new life and returns to normal (in medicine, recovery occurs during this period), or the body does not accept stress, and the consequences take a negative form.

Phenomena of the human body

A person has a huge reserve of safety inherent in nature, which is used in everyday life only to a small extent. It manifests itself in extreme situations and is perceived as a miracle. In fact, the miracle lies within us. Example of adaptation: the ability of people to adapt to normal life after the removal of a significant part of their internal organs.

Natural innate immunity throughout life can be strengthened by a number of factors or, conversely, weakened due to an incorrect lifestyle. Unfortunately, addiction to bad habits is also a difference between humans and other living organisms.

Man has the amazing ability to adapt to any climatic conditions. It always amazes me how people can live in this or that territory, but they still live and don’t complain. In fact, you can get used to any conditions, the main thing is desire and motivation. Personally, I would not like to live in cold or heat, but circumstances sometimes develop in such a way that you have to get used to new living conditions.

Human adaptation to climatic conditions

In order to reveal the topic of human adaptation, you need to look into the past several tens of thousands of years. Everyone knows that about thirty thousand years ago, a significant part of the planet’s territory was covered with glaciers. During the Ice Age, mammoths became extinct, but humans continued to live.

People have adapted perfectly to the new conditions that have arisen on the planet. They built warmer housing, came up with warm clothes and survived normally. This is the most striking example of adaptation, in my opinion.

People in ancient times conquered more and more territories, settled on different continents, in different climatic conditions. Thanks to evolution, they adapted well to the conditions where they lived. Here are the changes that helped a person adapt:

• skin color changed depending on the climate;
• facial features changed, for example, eye shape;
• lifestyle changed depending on climatic conditions.

In fact, a person can survive in any conditions on our planet.

Modern examples of human adaptation

Nowadays, too, sometimes we have to adapt. For example, people who live in a temperate climate can move to the Arctic due to various circumstances. There they have to get used to the cold, polar day or night, and the like.

What can we say about those who live and work at the North or South Poles. But after some time, the body gets used to any changes. This may not happen painlessly, there are allergies, for example, to cold or heat, but still, the end result is that a person can work and live in any conditions on the planet.