25 Jun Happiness is NOT…being a couch potato
Doing nothing is (obviously) not a path to happiness and here’s why…
1- Sleep difficulties. The relentless demands of modern life lead our bodies to produce excess cortisol, a stress hormone linked to insomnia. Excess cortisol comes at the expense of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that regulates sleep. For a better night_ã_s sleep, you therefore need to reduce cortisol and increase serotonin. The best way to accomplish both simultaneously is through exercise. But if you prefer to hit the couch when you get home from work, you might be up watching longer than you_ã_d like! Your out of balance biochemicals will retaliate and give you (another?) sleepless night. When getting a good night_ã_s sleep is difficult, feeling energetic the next day becomes one big challenge.
2- Frail muscles. When it comes to muscle mass and strength, the motto _ã–use it or lose it_ã definitely applies. People who are injured and have a limb immobilized start losing muscle cells as quickly as 6 hours after immobilization. Since muscle is a powerful calorie-consumer, consuming between 50 to 75 times more calories than fat does, lower muscle mass easily leads to weight gain. More importantly, less muscle mass makes anything slightly physical require more effort. Imagine how difficult it is for someone who has excess weight and weak muscles to carry that weight around just to get out of the car, climb a flight of stairs, walk down the hallway, and lift a box of paper before getting the day at work started? Ouf! I_ã_m tired just thinking about it!
Read more about the dangers of being a couch potato and why it’s not good for happiness – HERE