Performing regular exercise is important to maintain a healthy body, no matter what your age is. Exercise has a more significant effect on the body than just burning calories for losing excess weight. It has been advocated by fitness experts and medical professionals as one of the ways to build and maintain optimum health. Leading a sedentary life not only affects your looks but also decreases your bone density, weakens immunity and increases the risk of many preventable diseases. At least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise along with 2 strength training sessions per week are recommended by health experts. Beginning an exercise regimen is difficult after long duration of inactivity; however, you will notice immediate benefits.
What Happens if You Don’t Exercise?
1. Your lexibility decreases
During exercise, you stretch your muscles repeatedly that helps to build, shape and tone them. All the stretching that is done starting from warm up phase to cool down phase during a workout session makes your muscles and the tendons surrounding them flexible and also improves the flexibility of your whole body. This helps you twist, bend, stretch and pick up things easily without worrying about pulling or straining a muscle during the process.
2. Increased risk of heart disease
Lack of physical activity in association with other unhealthy lifestyle habits including high stress, less sleep and eating fatty food may increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. Your heart like all the other muscles of the body needs regular exercise to protect itself from life-threatening diseases such as heart attack, atherosclerosis, stroke, hypertension, etc.
3. Increased risk of muscular problems
Leading a sedentary lifestyle with no exercise may result in muscular atrophy where muscles gradually become weak and thin and lose their flexibility and mass. This makes them prone to getting injured.
4. Increased blood pressure and weight
One of the primary advantages of exercise is maintaining optimum weight and regulating your blood pressure. In case you are not exercising, either by choice or as a result of injury, you burn less calories in a day than before. By not burning 500 calories each day you can gain one pound of weight in a week or four pounds in a month. Gaining weight increases your risk of hypertension, diabetes type 2 and heart disease. Moreover, being overweight or obese makes exercise difficult as you put more stress on your joints while jogging or running
5. You develop sleep problems
What happens if you don’t exercise? You may not be able to sleep well at night if you are not exercising regularly. Exercising regularly has demonstrated to increase the total time you sleep. It has also been shown to help people with insomnia and to improve their quality of sleep. You will also feel well-rested and more alert all through the next day.
6. Increased bone loss
Lack of exercise has great impact on your bones as it causes diseases of bones such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. When you lose your bone mass and bone density, your bones become brittle and become more prone to developing fractures as you grow older. This is particularly true for females who are 4 times more likely to develop osteoporosis in comparison to males. According to research, resistance training produces a positive effect on the bone density in females.
7. You get breathless easily
When you are not exercising regularly, then while climbing stairs or carrying a heavy grocery bag for a small distance, you may get breathless. Exercising regularly improves lung and heart health, improving the capacity to exercise in both healthy individuals and patients suffering from chronic lung problems. Without regular exercise, your body won’t be able to utilize oxygen effectively; hence, you won’t be getting sufficient air.
8. Mood issues
Exercise has shown to release hormones that enhance mood, which are referred to as endorphins. They are the feel good hormones of the body that help in reducing the levels of cortisol, which is a stress hormone; thereby, reducing depression. Doing exercise for an hour is known to produce a “runner’s high” in a person, which is a clear, happy and calm state of the mind that happens due to release of high amounts of endorphins post exercise.
9. Sex issues
What happens if you don’t exercise? If you don’t exercise, your strength and stamina are decreased, which may cause sex issues. Exercise is also beneficial for your sex life as it helps in reducing stress, which is one of the major reasons for reduced libido. Furthermore, exercise has been proved to decrease the chances of developing erectile dysfunction and to improve sexual performance.
10. Your immunity weakens
Without regular exercise, your immunity is lowered and your body finds it difficult to fight the viruses including common cold and flu. Hence, you are more prone to fall sick if you don’t exercise regularly.
11. Stress Issues
In today’s world, stress is inevitable, be it professional or personal life. The best method to release stress is to provide it outlets such as playing sports or doing exercise that are known as instant stress relievers. When you are stressed, your body is triggered into a state of fight or flight, during which some body systems speed up (cardiovascular system), while some body systems slow down (gastrointestinal system). This results in secretion of cortisol, which is a stress hormone. Exercise releases endorphins, which are feel good chemicals of the body that slows down the release of cortisol; thereby, mitigating problems such as hypertension, problems with metabolism, etc.
12. Increased risk of developing diabetes type 2
Diabetes type 2 occurs when enough insulin is not produced in your body or your body cells are not able to utilize insulin effectively (they have become resistant to insulin). Two factors that increase your risk of developing diabetes type 2 are being obese and not exercising regularly. What happens if you don’t exercise? Your risk of developing type 2 diabetes increases. Diabetes type 2 may result in multiple complications such as kidney disease, heart disease, eye problems and nerve damage.
13. Increased risk of colon cancer
Lack of physical activity may increase your risk of developing cancer of colon. This is due to the fact that with inactivity your digestive process is slowed, letting waste to remain in your colon for longer duration. This increases the duration of exposure of your colon to carcinogens.
14. Increased risk of cancer of the breast
Regular exercise helps in regulating levels of hormones. The risk of breast cancer is increased when hormone levels are not balanced. According to National Cancer Institute, regular exercise should be done to help lower and regulate hormones that result in cancerous tumors.