Adaptation energy: Experimental evidence and applications in exercise science

Abstract

Adaptation energy was proposed by Hans Selye as a working hypothesis to explain the exhaustion phase of the general adaptation syndrome (GAS), which resulted in loss of adaptation and death following exposure to various noxious agents (e.g., morphine , atropine, formaldehyde) in rodents. Despite being the mechanistic explanation behind his experimental findings, Selye was inconsistent in defining what "adaptation energy" was.