Introduction
In this world of sedentary lifestyles, we’re all looking for a good reason to get up and move. One of the best reasons is that sitting around too much can damage your body in ways you never knew were possible. The good news is that exercise offers many benefits beyond just making you look better: It may also help prevent certain diseases and health problems. But if you don’t stay active? Well, then it might be time to start worrying about what happens when you don’t exercise at all.
You may find it hard to get a good night’s sleep
It’s hard to get a good night’s sleep if you don’t exercise. Exercise has been shown to increase the quality and duration of sleep, which leads to improved alertness during the day. Sleep is an important part of human physical health, so it’s essential that we do what we can to make sure we’re getting enough of it every night. The effects of a lack of sleep are wide-ranging, including:
- Decreased performance at school or work
- Headaches and other health issues (including diabetes)
- Changes in appetite and weight
You may develop high blood pressure
Some of the most serious side effects of not exercising include high blood pressure, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes.
There are also other risks associated with lack of exercise. Some studies have shown that there is an increased risk of developing kidney disease, cognitive decline (like dementia or memory loss), erectile dysfunction, and even early death.
Some people may find all this information scary, but it’s not too late for you to start! If you haven’t been exercising regularly already then now is a good time to start. Even if your goal isn’t weight loss or getting healthier overall – just walking 30 minutes a day every day will help keep your body functioning better than if you don’t do anything at all!
You’ll likely develop heart disease
It’s not just the heart. Exercise is also a great way to prevent diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. It can also help lower your risk of stroke, reduce bloating and aid with weight loss—no matter how much you weigh!
Your memory may fail more easily
You may have heard that exercise helps you lose weight and keep your body in good shape. But did you know it can also help your brain stay healthy? It’s true, according to Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, a cardiologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. “The more fit and active you are, the more oxygenated blood your brain gets,” she says. “This helps to keep neurons firing smoothly and efficiently.”
When it comes to keeping your memory sharp as a tack, there are no shortcuts; the only way to achieve this is by exercising regularly and making an effort to stay mentally active throughout life. For example:
- Do crossword puzzles or other mental challenges on a regular basis (try solving one every day).
- Keep up with current events by reading newspapers or watching news programs on TV every day (this will aid in retaining information).
You’ll destroy your endurance
- Cardiovascular endurance is the ability to sustain a high level of physical activity for long periods of time. It is a measure of how long you can perform an activity before you become fatigued or exhausted.
- Muscular endurance is the ability to perform repeated muscular contractions without fatigue, and it has been defined as “the capacity for performing repeated submaximal contractions against submaximal loads over time.”
But what really happens when you don’t exercise?
If your muscles are not used regularly, they will weaken and become less efficient at using oxygen; this reduces their efficiency in burning fat for energy, which leads to weight gain. The lack of exercise also decreases the amount of blood flowing through your heart; this means that there’s less oxygen delivered by the heart to other parts of your body like your brain—which can lead to poor mental performance such as memory loss or decreased cognitive function (for example, when we lose our keys).
Your blood sugar will get out of control
When we exercise, our body releases more insulin. This removes excess sugar from the blood into the cells for energy use. If you don’t exercise, your muscles have less need for glucose so the pancreas makes less insulin. As a result, excess blood sugar remains in the bloodstream and can lead to diabetes or hypoglycemia (or both).
Exercise can help keep your blood sugar healthy by increasing levels of good cholesterol (HDL) while lowering bad cholesterol (LDL) levels in your body. It can also improve insulin sensitivity so that your body uses its stored fat as fuel instead of using up muscle tissue during exercise
You may increase your risk for certain cancers
You may increase your risk for certain cancers. Cancer is a serious illness that can be fatal and it’s not just a disease of old age. People who don’t exercise regularly are more likely to develop cancer than people with healthier lifestyles, according to the American Cancer Society. The exact reason behind this relationship between lack of exercise and cancer risk isn’t known, but research suggests that several factors could contribute:
- Lack of physical activity may disrupt the body’s ability to process hormones that help regulate cell growth. This disruption can lead to an imbalance in the immune system and encourage abnormal cell growth (the first step towards cancer).
- A sedentary lifestyle has been linked with higher levels of obesity—another risk factor for many types of cancer—and an increased amount of belly fat has been linked with an increased risk for breast cancer in women and colorectal cancer in men and women alike.
Your knees and shoulders may hurt
If you don’t exercise, you may develop osteoporosis and joint problems. If you’re not moving around, your muscles won’t be strong and toned—and this can lead to poor posture, which could cause back pain or other issues.
The more sedentary you are, the more likely it is that your joints will ache and become inflamed. You might also experience tendonitis (tendinitis)—the inflammation of a tendon—or bursitis—a form of arthritis affecting fluid-filled sacs located in joints.
Your HDL “good” cholesterol will go down
Your HDL “good” cholesterol will go down.
HDL is the “good” cholesterol that helps remove LDL cholesterol from the blood. It’s been shown that exercise can help raise levels of HDL, but not as much as it can boost your other types of cholesterol (more on this later).
Your bones may become brittle
If you don’t exercise, your bones can become fragile and brittle. This can lead to broken bones and other serious health problems, such as osteoporosis. Weight-bearing exercises are crucial for developing strong bones because they make the muscles work against gravity, which strengthens them by forcing them to bear the weight of your body. Examples of weight-bearing exercises include walking, running stairs and lifting weights. If you’re not sure how much activity a particular exercise requires or whether it’s considered weight-bearing, ask a trainer or doctor who can help tailor an exercise plan just for you
You may become depressed
Depression is a serious mental illness that can be treated with medication and therapy. It’s also a common side effect of being sedentary.
If you’re not exercising enough, it’s important that you get help for your depression or anxiety as soon as possible.
You’ll likely gain weight
If you don’t exercise, you’ll likely gain weight. It’s a common misconception that exercise is only good for losing weight. The truth is that it can help with both gaining and losing! Exercise helps your body burn more calories than if you were just sitting around being lazy all day. It also helps build muscles and bones, which are needed for strength and energy during the day.
If your goal is to lose weight: Try going for a brisk walk every day after work or school! This will help burn away some extra calories from what you ate throughout the day (and hopefully keep them from building up in your belly). If walking isn’t enough of a workout for you, try jogging instead! You can do this by running in place inside of your house! Or maybe go outside if it’s not too cold out there yet—it’s actually pretty nice this time of year here in California where I live because it’s not too hot yet but still sunny enough for me not feel like an ice cube when stepping outside my front door each morning.”
Being sedentary can cause many health problems over the long term.
Inactivity can lead to many health problems over the long term, and the solution is simple: you should exercise regularly. The following are some examples of the problems that can be caused by inactivity, as well as some benefits of exercising regularly:
- You’re at a higher risk for obesity, which increases your chances of developing heart disease or type 2 diabetes.
- You may have more difficulty with daily activities such as climbing stairs or carrying groceries.
- Your muscles will become weak and fragile, making them more prone to injury from falls and accidents.
Exercise is beneficial for everyone, but there has never been a better time than now for people who are interested in getting started with their own fitness routine!
Conclusion
We’ve just covered some of the potential health problems that can develop over time if you’re sedentary. The good news is that you can address these issues by getting more active. Just make sure to talk to your doctor first and make sure your activity level is safe before starting any new exercise routine!
