When we live by business schedules, we feel like doing nothing but sleeping in bed all day. Depression also has a way of making you not want to leave your room and face the world. By learning about what happens to your body when you never get up from bed, you will be motivated to want to treat your depression and get out into the world.
What Happens to Your Body After a Week?
If you do not start moving out of your bed after 24 hours, your lungs can start to change. Gravity is not pulling them down to their normal position anymore so your lungs start to crumble up. This makes it harder for mucus to pass through the collapsed passages. Trapped mucus can infect your lungs and ultimately lead to pneumonia. Too much lying down can also lead to weak muscles and bones if you are not using them. Business Insider says every week bedridden causes 1% of bone density loss which makes them brittle. You also lose 1% of muscle mass in your thighs, butt, and shoulders. Unused sugar that is normally sucked up from your blood for energy can build up and lead to Type II diabetes.
What Happens to Your Body After Two Weeks?
In two weeks, you can develop bedsores when bony parts of your body like the hips, tailbone, and ankles press against the same spot for too long. Not being careful can rip through layers of skin and tissue and expose your bones and muscles. You have also lost 10% of muscle mass which means you will have less oxygen and blood in your bed. In one month, your body pumps 30% less blood per beat. If you do not get up soon, it will be hard for you to ever get up again.
What Can I Do to Get Out of Bed?
You can first try setting an alarm an hour before you have to wake up to help ease into the day. It may help to have the alarm be somewhere you have to get up from your bed to turn it off. You can also be kind to yourself by using self-encouragement that you will take it a little bit at a time and that the world cannot wait to see you. Spending time out of bed will be good for your body as well as your mood.
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