Editing Human behavior (section)

== Physiological behavior ==
{{See also|Psychophysiology}}
[[File:Boy eating a mango.jpg|thumb|upright|left|A boy eating in [[Harare]], Zimbabwe (2017)]]
Humans undergo many behaviors common to animals to support the processes of the [[human body]]. Humans eat [[food]] to obtain [[nutrition]]. These foods may be chosen for their nutritional value, but they may also be [[Hedonic hunger|eaten for pleasure]]. Eating often follows a [[food preparation]] process to make it more enjoyable.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Essentials of Human Nutrition |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0199566341 |editor-last=Mann |editor-first=Jim |edition=4th |location=Oxford |page=1|editor-last2=Truswell |editor-first2=A. Stewart}}</ref> Humans dispose of [[Human waste|waste]] through [[urination]] and [[defecation]]. Excrement is often treated as taboo, particularly in developed and urban communities where [[sanitation]] is more widely available and excrement has no value as [[fertilizer]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jewitt |first=Sarah |date=2011 |title=Geographies of shit: Spatial and temporal variations in attitudes towards human waste |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0309132510394704 |journal=Progress in Human Geography |language=en |volume=35 |issue=5 |pages=608–626 |doi=10.1177/0309132510394704 |s2cid=129647616 |issn=0309-1325 |access-date=2022-08-11 |archive-date=2022-05-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506180125/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0309132510394704 |url-status=live }}</ref> Humans also regularly engage in [[sleep]], based on homeostatic and circadian factors. The [[circadian rhythm]] causes humans to require sleep at a regular pattern and is typically calibrated to the day-night cycle and sleep-wake habits. Homeostasis is also maintained, causing longer sleep longer after periods of [[sleep deprivation]]. The human [[sleep cycle]] takes place over 90 minutes, and it repeats 3–5 times during normal sleep.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gillberg |first=M. |date=1997 |title=Human sleep/wake regulation |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9248514/ |journal=Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica. Supplementum |volume=110 |pages=8–10 |doi=10.1111/j.1399-6576.1997.tb05482.x |issn=0515-2720 |pmid=9248514 |s2cid=9354406 |access-date=2022-08-11 |archive-date=2022-08-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811054840/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9248514/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

There are also unique behaviors that humans undergo to maintain physical health. Humans have developed [[medicine]] to prevent and treat illnesses. In industrialized nations, eating habits that favor better nutrition, hygienic behaviors that promote [[sanitation]], medical treatment to eradicate diseases, and the use of [[birth control]] significantly improve human health.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McKeown |first=Thomas |title=The Role of Medicine |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1980 |isbn=978-1400854622 |page=78}}</ref> Humans can also engage in [[exercise]] beyond that required for survival to maintain health.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Vina |first1=J. |last2=Sanchis-Gomar |first2=F. |last3=Martinez-Bello |first3=V. |last4=Gomez-Cabrera |first4=M.C. |date=2012 |title=Exercise acts as a drug; the pharmacological benefits of exercise: Exercise acts as a drug |journal=British Journal of Pharmacology |language=en |volume=167 |issue=1 |pages=1–12 |doi=10.1111/j.1476-5381.2012.01970.x |pmc=3448908 |pmid=22486393}}</ref> Humans engage in [[hygiene]] to limit exposure to [[dirt]] and [[pathogen]]s. Some of these behaviors are adaptive while others are learned. Basic behaviors of disgust evolved as an adaptation to prevent contact with sources of pathogens, resulting in a biological aversion to [[feces]], [[body fluid]]s, [[rotten food]], and animals that are commonly [[disease vector]]s. [[Personal grooming]], [[disposal of human corpses]], use of [[sewerage]], and use of [[cleaning agent]]s are hygienic behaviors common to most human societies.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Curtis |first=Valerie A. |date=2007 |title=A Natural History of Hygiene |journal=Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology |language=en |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=11–14 |doi=10.1155/2007/749190 |pmid=18923689 |pmc=2542893 |issn=1712-9532|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Humans [[Sexual reproduction|reproduce sexually]], engaging in [[sexual intercourse]] for both reproduction and [[sexual pleasure]]. Human reproduction is closely associated with [[human sexuality]] and an instinctive [[Libido|desire to procreate]], though humans are unique in that they intentionally control the number of offspring that they produce.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Baggott |first=L. M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bCEQ2hvetsUC |title=Human Reproduction |date=1997 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0521469142 |page=5 |language=en}}</ref> Humans engage in a large variety of [[Human reproduction|reproductive behavior]]s relative to other animals, with various mating structures that include forms of [[monogamy]], [[polygyny]], and [[polyandry]]. How humans engage in mating behavior is heavily influenced by cultural norms and customs.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Newson |first=Lesley |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/809201501 |title=Building Babies: Primate Development in Proximate and Ultimate Perspective |publisher=Springer |year=2013 |isbn=978-1461440604 |editor-last=Clancy |editor-first=Kathryn B. H. |location=New York |page=487 |chapter=Cultural Evolution and Human Reproductive Behavior |oclc=809201501 |editor-last2=Hinde |editor-first2=Katie |editor-last3=Rutherford |editor-first3=Julienne N.}}</ref> Unlike most mammals, humans ovulate spontaneously rather than seasonally, with a [[menstrual cycle]] that typically lasts 25–35 days.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Richard E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M4kEdSnS-pkC |title=Human Reproductive Biology |last2=Lopez |first2=Kristin H. |date=2013 |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0123821850 |page=63 |language=en}}</ref>

Humans are [[Bipedalism|bipedal]] and move by [[walking]]. Human walking corresponds to the [[bipedal gait cycle]], which involves alternating heel contact and toe off with the ground and slight elevation and rotation of the [[pelvis]]. Balance while walking is learned during the first 7–9 years of life, and individual humans develop unique [[gaits]] while learning to displace weight, adjust [[center of mass]], and coordinate neural control with movement.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Inman |first=Verne T. |date=1966-05-14 |title=Human Locomotion |journal=Canadian Medical Association Journal |volume=94 |issue=20 |pages=1047–1054 |issn=0008-4409 |pmc=1935424 |pmid=5942660}}</ref> Humans can achieve higher speed by [[running]]. The [[Endurance running hypothesis#"No horse or dog could possibly…"|endurance running hypothesis]] proposes that humans can outpace most other animals over long distances through running, though human running causes a higher rate of energy exertion. The human body self-regulates through [[perspiration]] during periods of exertion, allowing humans more endurance than other animals.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Carrier |first1=David R. |last2=Kapoor |first2=A. K. |last3=Kimura |first3=Tasuku |last4=Nickels |first4=Martin K. |last5=Scott |first5=Eugenie C. |last6=So |first6=Joseph K. |last7=Trinkaus |first7=Erik |date=1984-08-01 |title=The Energetic Paradox of Human Running and Hominid Evolution [and Comments and Reply] |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/203165 |journal=Current Anthropology |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=483–495 |doi=10.1086/203165 |s2cid=15432016 |issn=0011-3204 |access-date=2022-08-23 |archive-date=2022-08-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220825185729/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/203165 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> The human [[hand]] is [[Prehensility|prehensile]] and capable of [[grasp]]ing objects and applying force with control over the hand's [[dexterity]] and [[grip strength]]. This allows the use of complex [[tool]]s by humans.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wells |first1=Richard |last2=Greig |first2=Michael |date=2001-12-01 |title=Characterizing human hand prehensile strength by force and moment wrench |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00140130110109702 |journal=Ergonomics |volume=44 |issue=15 |pages=1392–1402 |doi=10.1080/00140130110109702 |issn=0014-0139 |pmid=11936830 |s2cid=10935674 |access-date=2022-08-23 |archive-date=2022-08-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220825185730/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00140130110109702 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>