Oh, the joys of laziness

Posted on Jan 9th 2008 2:40PM by Martha Edwards

Filed Under: Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Motivation

Despite a few slothful years I enjoyed as a teenager, I've never been the type of person you could describe as 'lazy.' Not that I'm a workoholic either, but I get bored easily. I can only watch TV or play video games for a couple of hours at a time, and though I could spend an entire day reading, I rarely find books that grab my attention enough to warrant me sitting on my butt for 12 hours. No, I'd much rather enjoy life than put it off. I need fresh air and a certain amount of movement to be content. I'm happiest when I'm doing something good for myself or getting something accomplished.

But according to the author of The Joy of Laziness: How to slow down and live longer, Dr. Peter Axt, the key to a long, healthy life isn't exercise -- it's laziness. Apparently, putting your feet up and relaxing is much better for you than working out. It all comes down to what he calls your life energy, which is finite. When life is hectic and fast-paced and physically demanding, you use up more life energy, which shortens your lifespan. But when you slow down, you conserve your life energy. Hmm. If this is true, I'm probably going to die young.

I'm all for the idea of slowing down your life and taking more time to relax, but I'm not sure if cutting out exercise is the answer. For me, exercise is relaxing, and it gives me much more energy than lounging does. What do you think?

(via Crabby McSlacker)

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Tags: exercise, Laziness, lazy, Peter Axt, PeterAxt, relax, slow down, SlowDown

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

RP 1-09-2008 @ 4:16PM

I feel its in the balance in life
To much lazyness NO GOOD
To much working NO GOOD

Find a happy medium and go with it and stop running after the all mighty BUCK all your life, smell some coffee.

gary 1-09-2008 @ 7:44PM

Right on!

Greg Brooks 1-09-2008 @ 4:22PM

Live hard, be productive or get out of the way!!!

fredb49 1-09-2008 @ 7:38PM

Yeah 200 kilos

greg 1-09-2008 @ 4:24PM

Laziness doesn't pay the bills and provide for the family. But, I do like to be lazy when I can-I agree with others, you need a good balance of laziness and activity.

hubbasix 1-09-2008 @ 4:36PM

Yipee! Looks like I am going to live to be 200 !

Emora 1-09-2008 @ 4:54PM

hmmmm, i guess im not going to be around very long. i like being lazy, i just never get to be.

vixen 1-09-2008 @ 4:57PM

My friend has a theory that you can use any part of your body only so many times before it wears out. For example, you can screw 500,000 screws with a screwdriver, but after that, you get carpal tunnel syndrome. You can do stepping exercises only 100,000 times before your knee joints wear out. These numbers are just picked out of a hat. The number of times you can do anything is determined by your genetic programming, and it is different for everyone. But everyone has a finite number of heartbeats also, before the heart gives out. So why speed up your demise by making your heart beat faster? Why wear out your body by forcing it to do extra movements of any kind? What are your thoughts on this, guys?

Martha Edwards 1-09-2008 @ 5:00PM

You have a point--Everything wears out at some point--but using muscles makes them stronger, and your heart is a muscle. So your heart may only have, for example, 10 Million beats in it, but by working it a bit harder, you might get to 12million because by now, it's stronger and more ready to deal with stress.

Laura 1-15-2008 @ 7:26PM

"Myth: You only have so many heart beats

Without question, everyone has a prescribed amount of life (2 to 3 billion heartbeats) on earth. Working out, however, won't send you to an early grave. In fact, a conditioned heart will actually beat more slowly at rest - thus, saving heartbeats. Individuals shouldn't worry about wasting precious heartbeats to exercise."

Laura 1-15-2008 @ 5:02PM

"Myth: You only have so many heart beats.

Without question, everyone has a prescribed amount of life (2 to 3 billion heartbeats) on earth. Working out, however, won't send you to an early grave. In fact, a conditioned heart will actually beat more slowly at rest - thus, saving heartbeats. Individuals shouldn't worry about wasting precious heartbeats to exercise."

Vishaal 1-09-2008 @ 4:58PM

I noticed that families that 'hang out' with eachother almost everyday in a lazy manner are happier. I think the happiness is making the big difference here, being with the people you love and relaxing. This is GREAT to do AFTER your work out and shower.

leczornsales 1-09-2008 @ 5:32PM

This is an interesting study. I do think that being too past faced is bad. But I think exercise is good. I've long believed that one of the keys to not only living a long time but also maintaining a high quality of life is to have interests, hobbies and passions. You can do that without getting too stressed. Balance is the key in this and so many other things.

Lec Zorn
http://www.leczorn.com
http://www.myspace.com/leczorn

tricia 1-09-2008 @ 5:43PM

I sure hope my husband doesn't see this! I can hardly get him to do anything now. An elderly lady I used to live beside always said it well,"work won't hurt you,but worry will kill you"! She died at 94 and worked a vegetable garden into her 80's. Exercise is good for everybody.It also releases endorphens in the brain that produce a feeling of well being and accomplishment.Being lazy produces the opposite(for me). So much to do,so little time.

zippy 1-09-2008 @ 5:43PM

i am running to the printer to copy this.. rushing into work tomorrow to show it to my boss.. then i am going to take a nap at my desk lol

Anjie 1-09-2008 @ 5:48PM

Well according to my husband I should live longer than Moses did, seeing as we housewives don't do anything at all throughout the day....yeah right....

Matt 1-09-2008 @ 5:48PM

Im laid off and catching up on my laziness. After 16 months of 60 hr weeks Im very content taking a break for a month. But any more than that extreme boredom will set in and Ill be itching to get back at it.

heidi4u2nv 1-09-2008 @ 6:02PM

My grandfather lived to be 107 years old(born1881-1988). He worked everyday but since he was a cop and felt he could do whatever he wanted, he would go to the park and sleep on the bench everyday and would only get up when he had a criminal to catch,use the bathroom,eat then go home to sleep some more,lol.

Espiritwater 1-09-2008 @ 6:09PM

When you're too lazy, your heartbeat INCREASES and when you exercize, it slows down. So if it's true what one poster said (that to over-use a part of the body wears it out) then it must be true that exercise IS good for you. (So is meditation... conscious relaxation!). Also, it's been said that if you never use your arm it will atrophy (and other parts too) so you need to exercise...