Skipping THIS Everyday Seriously Messes Up Your Body, Says Study
Scary.
Even though there are times that we really hate doing it, there's no question that hitting the gym is a necessary evil. Sometimes, we can't be bothered to pull ourselves out of bed in the mornings long enough for our twenty minute pull-up routine.
But according to a recent study, skipping out on exercise is more harmful than you think. The New York Times mentions that one of the benefits of exercise is that it helps regulate our body's natural circadian rhythm.
They say that "by influencing our built-in body clocks, exercise may help our bodies to recognize the optimal times we should be moving, and when we should be still." So you can imagine what happens when you decide to break your routine.
The study goes further by saying that our systems actually memorize our movement and try to imitate it when it notices that we aren't moving ourselves or keeping up with the physical activity.
After observing the patterns of physical activity in young people, researchers found that "the young people’s bodies seemed to be somehow remembering and responding to what that body had just been doing, whether sitting or moving, and then calculating a new, appropriate response — moving or sitting. In doing so, the researchers felt, the body created a healthy, dynamic circadian pattern."
It's interesting to note that when they compared this to older participants, it had the complete opposite effect. Their body patterns weren't as predictable, and they also moved less during the day.
It makes sense that your body needs to keep moving in order for things to work efficiently. Being active one minute and then completely going cold turkey the next will only throw your body out of wack. So do yourself a favor and keeping hitting the gym, girl.