The Rapid Decay of Your Body Without Movement

The Shocking Speed of Physical Deterioration

Imagine this: in just 24 hours of complete inactivity, your body begins to break down at an alarming rate. Your muscles start to melt away, your brain function declines, your bones weaken, your heart loses strength, and your metabolism crashes. This rapid deterioration occurs even faster than most people realize.

Muscle Loss: A Rapid Process

When you're completely inactive, such as in a coma or on complete bed rest, you lose approximately 1% of your muscle mass every one to two days. Inside these muscles are contractile proteins called actin and myosin. These proteins have a half-life of just 5 to 7 days, meaning half of them die and need replacement within a week. Without movement, there's less protein synthesis, removing the stimulus to create new muscle tissue.

In fact, you can lose up to 10% of your quadriceps muscle mass and other major muscle groups in just 30 days of inactivity. Even worse, the neuromuscular pathways - the signals and timing that give these muscles their function and strength - deteriorate even faster.

Why Movement is Crucial for Survival

The reason for this drastic breakdown of the body without movement is rooted in our evolutionary need to move. The ultimate purpose of the body is to survive, and to survive, we must be capable of movement. This extends to the brain as well, which is now understood to be regulated by movement.

The Brain's Primary Function: Movement

Roger Sperry, who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology in 1981, stated that 90% of the brain's output is dedicated to movement and processing the body's position in the gravitational field. He went on to say that movement is not just good for the brain - it's the brain's primary job. The very survival of brain cells depends on it.

The Cellular Basis of Movement

Out of the 40 trillion cells in the body, about 100 billion are neurons. Each type of cell has a specific function, but they all share one common trait: if you don't use them, you lose them. The body doesn't maintain cells without a purpose, as it would be a waste of resources.

Cells are constantly being born, growing, and dying. The body only replaces cells that are being used. This applies to all cells in the body, but especially to brain cells. For example, muscle cells have the ability to contract, creating force in the body. When we exercise and put tension on those muscles, we use them and maintain them. But when injured and immobilized, the muscle begins to atrophy due to lack of use.

Brain cells process signals. When we give them a purpose by processing lots of information, we rebuild them. Just like muscles, you can have large, healthy neurons and brain cells, or small, atrophied brain cells that can't process or metabolize much.

The Importance of Gravity and Movement for Brain Health

To keep the brain healthy, we need to give it plenty of signals to process. According to Roger Sperry, 90% of the signals that reach the brain and feed it come from movement, posture, and gravity. Understanding this makes it clear that the brain's survival depends on movement.

The Space Example

In space, the biggest problem astronauts face isn't lack of oxygen - it's the lack of gravity, which leads to massive, rapid deconditioning and collapse of human health. Even the healthiest, fittest astronauts lose about 2% of their muscle mass per month in space, despite rigorous exercise routines. The lack of gravity signals leads to rapid degeneration.

The Sea Squirt Example

The sea squirt, a small ocean creature, provides another fascinating example of the importance of movement. As a larva, it has a primitive nervous system with 177 brain cells, giving it basic sensory and motor functions. It can detect its surroundings and propel itself forward. Once it finds a place to settle, it transforms from an animal into a plant-like organism. No longer needing to move, it actually consumes its own brain, using the nutrients because it will never need it again.

Movement: More Than Just Calorie Burning

Many articles and internet sources focus on movement and exercise as a means of burning calories. However, this view is absurdly limited in the grand scheme of things. The importance of movement goes far beyond calorie expenditure.

Every physiological system in the body depends on movement. Your neurological system, endocrine system, hormonal system, and even your digestive system all rely on movement for optimal function. Understanding this connection between movement and bodily function is crucial.

The Speed of Degeneration: Sedentary Lifestyle vs. Extreme Inactivity

The degenerative process that occurs in extreme inactivity (like a coma) is the same process that happens in a normal sedentary lifestyle, just at a different speed. Approximately 30 days in a coma is equivalent to what would happen over 30 years of minimal movement - roughly the period from age 30 to 60.

These degenerative changes include brain degeneration, metabolic changes (becoming insulin resistant), slowed metabolism, and chronic inflammation. This inflammation can lead to pain in the back, hips, shoulders, and knees, further reducing mobility and range of motion. With less movement, fewer stimuli are sent to the brain, creating a negative cycle of degeneration.

Assessing Your Movement Capabilities

Many people might think they're doing fine compared to others their age, but it's worth considering what a normal 60-year-old should be capable of in terms of running, walking, or climbing stairs. Can you still do push-ups? Pull-ups? Do you have enough muscle mass? Can you get up from a chair without using your hands?

As we age, these abilities are closely tied to longevity and health. Many older adults can no longer rise from a chair without using their hands. Activities like skating, sailing, or skiing become challenging. Even simple tasks like grocery shopping or playing with grandchildren can become difficult.

The Normalization of Reduced Mobility

Have you noticed how many electric carts are now available in stores like Walmart? How many parking spaces are designated for disabled individuals? While it's important to accommodate those with mobility issues, it seems to be becoming the norm rather than the exception.

Understanding Aging and Degeneration

It's crucial to understand that many of the changes leading to degeneration are related to disuse rather than an inevitable part of aging. The two main components are lack of movement and lifestyle factors, particularly diet.

What if you could take better care of yourself and maintain the abilities of a 50-year-old at 80? Most people shouldn't have significant issues with basic movements before at least 80 years of age.

Various Forms of Movement

When we talk about movement, many people think of formal exercise - gym workouts, weightlifting, spin classes, etc. While these are beneficial, movement encompasses much more:

• Walking
• Dancing
• Gardening
• Taking stairs instead of elevators
• Parking further away from store entrances
• Yoga or Pilates
• Water exercises

Even if you have mobility limitations, there are still ways to incorporate movement:

• Wheelchair exercises
• Seated yoga
• Arm and hand movements
• Head and eye movements
• Breathing exercises

The Power of Visualization

Interestingly, even visualizing movement can have benefits. Studies have shown that people who mentally practice activities like dart throwing or piano playing improve more than those who don't. Some research has even demonstrated increased muscle strength in individuals who mentally practiced bicep exercises.

Reversing the Degeneration Process

By incorporating more movement and creating various signals for your brain, you can begin to reverse the degeneration process to some extent. Increased movement leads to increased afferentation - the signals and stimulation that keep the brain alive.

Combine this with better eating habits - reducing inflammation, lowering sugar intake, and consuming less processed foods - and you can create a positive feedback cycle. With less inflammation comes better mobility, less joint pain, and the ability to move even more.

It's Never Too Late to Start

While it's true that the longer you wait, the longer it will take to reverse the process and the more degeneration you'll have to overcome, it's never too late to start. Tomorrow isn't too late because you can always benefit from improving your health starting now.

Conclusion

Understanding how the body truly functions is key to mastering your health. Movement is not just about burning calories or maintaining muscle mass - it's about keeping every system in your body, especially your brain, functioning optimally. By incorporating more movement into your daily life, you can significantly impact your health, longevity, and quality of life. Start today, and your future self will thank you.

Article created from: https://youtu.be/6cwboACwgLw?feature=shared