Hidden Impact of Slow Metabolism: It is often said that if your metabolism is fast, your health will remain good. If metabolism slows down, many problems will start arising. Most people have this question in their mind that what is metabolism and if it slows down, what effect can it have on the body? According to health experts, the process of converting food into energy in our body is called metabolism. The body needs energy all the time and it has a direct connection with metabolism. This is the reason why doctors tell ways to boost metabolism.

Dr. Lokendra Gupta, emergency head of Medanta Hospital, Lucknow told News18. That when a person’s metabolic rate slows down, the body starts storing calories as fat instead of burning them. Slow metabolism is not limited to just weight gain, but it also badly affects our energy levels and physical and mental health. The biggest symptom of slow metabolism is gaining weight without any reason or not losing weight even after many efforts. Apart from this, the person feels tired and weak all the time, because the body is not able to produce enough energy.

Experts said that due to slow metabolism, there are complaints of dryness in the skin, hair fall and digestive problems like constipation. This condition also reduces the body’s internal heat production capacity, due to which the person starts feeling colder than normal. Slow metabolic rate affects our hormones as well as mental health. Due to this, a condition of brain fog often arises, in which the person has difficulty in focusing. Slowing metabolism can increase the level of stress hormones, which can make a person irritable and depressed. If it is not taken care of in time, it can lead to serious problems like thyroid or insulin resistance, which causes diabetes.

Now the question is what to do to speed up metabolism? According to the doctor, to speed up metabolism, change your diet and eat healthy foods. It is also important to drink adequate amount of water. Even a slight lack of water in the body can slow down the metabolism. Exercise is a powerful tool to increase metabolism. Muscle tissues burn more calories than fat tissues even at rest. The more muscle you have in your body, the higher your resting metabolic rate will be. Apart from this, doing high-intensity interval training creates an afterburn effect, due to which the body continues to burn calories for several hours after finishing the exercise.

Often people focus only on diet and exercise for metabolism, but incomplete sleep can prove to be a big villain. Lack of sleep increases blood sugar levels and unbalances the hormones ghrelin and leptin that control appetite, causing metabolism to slow down. 7-8 hours of deep sleep every night is necessary to repair the body and keep metabolic functions smooth. You can reactivate your metabolic rate through proper nutrition, regular exercise and a stress-free life.