What happens to our body when we do not exercise?
What happens to your
health if you stop exercising?
We all know the
therapeutic benefits of exercise and regularly working out, which help keep you
in shape and help sustain proper body function. It has been recommended that
every healthy individual engages in 45-50 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise
on a regular basis as well.
Harmful effects of not exercising or being physically active
While we can safely agree
that there are some lifestyle habits (from drinking, smoking, eating excessive
junk) that can be detrimental to our well-being, not actually moving a muscle
throughout can be similarly bad.
As we talk and vouch for
the benefits of regular exercise, it often gets missed out that engaging in
little to no exercise can be just as bad, or even life-threatening. Take this
for example. While regular, brisk exercise is said to delay aging, not meeting
required levels of physical activity can actually accelerate your risk of
prematurely dying, and causes more deaths globally than tobacco consumption or
diabetes, as per a study published in The Lancet. Now, while skipping a day or
two of exercise (or a week) wouldn’t do much harm to your body, there’s
actually a lot of graver risks that entail if you go without budging an inch,
or moving your arms for upwards of a month.
We tell you 5 such things
which can happen if you do not exercise regularly or remain physically active:
- Your heart becomes less efficient
- Your muscles weaken down
- You can struggle to get a good night's sleep
- You lose out on endurance
- Your blood sugar levels get disrupted
Detailed Explanation:
1. Your heart becomes
less efficient
Exercise keeps the heart
pumping and active.
Aerobic and cardio
exercises done regularly are linked to a good heart rate and a lower risk of
heart ailments. However, if you do not exercise or go a long time without any
form of physical activity, you'll start to experience your heart functioning
poorly and have it impact everyday tasks. The heart rate can get disturbed, you
can encounter shortness of breath, and coupled with poor dietary habits, you'll
be vulnerable to facing heightened heart issues and cholesterol levels as well.
2. Your muscles weaken
down
One of the most important
roles exercise plays is to keep the muscle cells in good shape and strengthen
them. When you do not exercise or move around, not only do you undo all the
progress previously made, it can also reduce the muscle strength you have and
make you feel a lot weaker. Simply said, your muscles weaken and then you lose
out on the bulk of your muscles that are needed for breathing and the ones
which facilitate movement.
Even picking up simple
weights can seem tougher, and muscle function may not remain energetic or as
helpful as before. Weak muscles may also make it difficult for you to carry out
everyday tasks and activities.
3. You can struggle to
get a good night's sleep
Believe it or not,
exercise has an important link with good quality sleep, and if you aren't
fulfilling any of the two- sleep or exercise, you are exposing yourself to the
risk of bad health. When you work out in an intense manner or retire to the
bed tired after a brisk run, chances are you'll enjoy good sleep and wake up
feeling energized. That's the pivotal role exercise plays in facilitating
sleep. And, when you do not move around or stretch those muscles, you'll risk
bad sleep. Not only is exercise a great stressbuster and sleep inducer, not
getting good sleep can be a sign that you are skimping on the required physical
activity needed for the day.
What also needs to be
remembered is that poor quality (and fewer hours) of sleep on an everyday basis
has also been linked to a number of metabolic and hormonal issues, including
diabetes risk, weight gain, poor mental health.
4. You lose out on
endurance
Exercise builds stamina
and makes you gain endurance. And, when you do not exercise, you are at a big
risk of undoing all the gains and becoming relatively weaker, in a very short
time. Remember, endurance counts as a key measure to determine how healthy and
fit you are, for your age.
A study was done in reference
to this actually spent time analyzing the dip in endurance levels over time in
kayakers. When their VO2 levels (amount of oxygen exerted during intense
exercise) were compared to the time they engaged in only basic exercise, it was
observed that there was a whopping 11.2% level drop. With significantly lower
physical activity levels, the drop could be even more shocking.
5. Your blood sugar
levels get disrupted
Type-2 diabetes is a big
risk factor and sadly very common in our country. While it's a metabolic
disorder characterized by a lot of symptoms, one of the changes which can
disrupt blood sugar functioning is lack of physical activity. Yes, that is
true. Since exercise plays a major role in determining how your body processes
carbohydrates, doing little to no exercise can accelerate blood sugar rise,
increase inflammation levels, and make you prone to tackling obesity.
Source: Times Of India
