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Hey there and welcome to Life Noggin.
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You spend about one-third of your life sleeping.
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And chances are, you are doing that in your bed.
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But what if you spent all your time in that bed?
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What if you never left?
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I mean, that memory foam can't hurt me right...right?! Oh right, I know the answer.
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Sadly, it can.
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And believe it or not, NASA paid a guy 18 thousand dollars to lie in bed for 70 days.
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They wanted to study the effects of microgravity on the human body
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and lying down for so long simulates the effects of long-haul flights on astronauts' bodies.
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The beds were tilted back six degrees, causing the bodily fluids to shift to the upper body,
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which duplicated some of the effects of low-gravity environments.
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After the 70 days, the first time the volunteer was vertical,
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his heart rate jumped to 150 beats per minute and felt like he was going to collapse,
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which is definitely not great for an otherwise-healthy man.
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But this study is different than most, because it simulated microgravity.
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Instead, let's talk about what would happen if you never left a normal bed that wasn't tilted backwards.
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Well, firstly, you will probably start to develop bedsores.
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These are caused by the pressure on the skin
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that limits the amount of blood flow to the skin and nearby tissues.
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Basically, imagine this: the tissue between your bones and the bed is under a lot of pressure from your body weight.
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And if that pressure is great enough, the nutrient-rich blood won't be able to reach your cells
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and they will be damaged and eventually die.
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The sores usually occur in areas like your tailbone, hips, and shoulder blades.
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And be warned: they are not pretty.
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Not even with a little bit of coral blue lipstick.
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Also, you'll start to get weaker -- especially if you are immobile in the bed.
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See, muscles at complete rest lose 10 to 15 percent of their strength per week.
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In just 3 to 5 weeks, the muscle has lost nearly half of its strength.
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So good luck lifting that laptop off of your lap as easily as before.
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Complete rest will also cause your endurance to decrease,
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leading to fatigue and even more inactivity.
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And your muscles will begin to atrophy too, losing their mass.
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And your bones also lose their mass, eventually stabilizing around 40 to 70% of their original mass.
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This is caused by increased bone resorption, which is a process that breaks bones down,
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eventually fast enough that it outweighs the rate of new bone growth.
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And this can lead to conditions like osteoporosis.
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And on top of all that, every two days of immobilization,
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your resting heart rate increase by one beat per minute, eventually plateauing.
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And even more, your blood volume decreases as well.
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Because of this, since the blood carries oxygen, there is less oxygen uptake by your cells,
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which means you'll get tired much more easily.
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And that's not even all of it, people!
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There are tons of other negative effects of bed rest, like increased anxiety,
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increased risk of kidney stones, and increased risk of pneumonia.
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So, while your bed may be incredibly comfortable,
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you should definitely try to limit the time you spend in it.
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Trust me, your body will thank you.
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So you Sleepy Sallys, how much time do you spend in your bed? Or are you more of an active type?
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Let me know in the comment sections below.
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Make sure you come back every Monday for a brand-new video.
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As always, I'm Blocko and this has been Life Noggin.
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Don't forget to keep on thinking!