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Why we don't move: The importance of somatic maintenance and resting

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 September 2021

Joshua M. Schrock Open the ORCID record for Joshua M. Schrock [Opens in a new window]
Joshua M. Schrock*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology and Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA. joshua.schrock@northwestern.edu; jmschrock.com
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Abstract

A compelling ecological theory of movement and vigor must explain why humans and other animals spend so much time not moving. When we rest, our somatic maintenance systems continue to work. When our somatic maintenance requirements increase, we place greater subjective value on resting. To explain variation in movement and vigor, we must account for the subjective value of resting.

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Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 44 , 2021 , e132
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Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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