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Digital Media

8 June 2024

Too much exercise in summer can make you sick; all about the side effects of over-exercising

Over-exercising is unsafe in any season but it's particularly troublesome in summer when the scorching heat puts us at additional risk of heat stroke, dehydration, and many related complications. People on weight loss journey may be tempted to stretch themselves harder to attain their fitness goals faster, but doing so can in fact do more harm than good.

Exercising more than your body can handle can affect us in many ways from muscle strains, mood swings, to trouble in sleeping. In fact exercising too much can also pose a hurdle in your attempts to lose weight. It can lead to excessive fatigue and muscle strain, which may reduce your workout effectiveness. It can also elevate stress hormones like cortisol, which can promote fat storage.

If you are feeling fatigued all the time which is affecting your work efficiency, feeling dizzy, or not able to sleep well, you may need to cut down on your exercise hours for reaping best benefits out of your workouts. It is important to stay well hydrated all the time, take sufficient rest and reduce your heat exposure during heatwaves to stay healthy.

"With constant heat wave alerts, we are headed for a difficult summer. While exercising is important for physical well-being it is important to do it in moderation," says Dr Rahul Agarwal Consultant Internal Medicine CARE Hospitals Hitech City Hyderabad.

Dr Agarwal says overexercising in summer may cause a range of side effects from fatigue, heatstroke to insomnia. Try not overheat your body and keep it cool with natural remedies.

Side effects of over-exercising

1. Feeling of fatigue: The combination of hot weather and exercise may not go well for your body and exhaustion can be experienced by many individuals. Fatigue is when you are continuously tired even with good rest. Constant fatigue is an indicator that you may be engaging in overexercising and need to slow down for some time.

2. Burning out from intense workouts: Engaging in intense exercises can cause burnout. This will also affect the performance levels of an individual, causing a decline. Burnout may even lead to frustration as individuals, are not able to perform well during exercises.

3. Dehydration: Intense workouts cause more sweating, which causes the body to lose fluids. If the body's fluid intake is insufficient, one may suffer from dehydration. Symptoms such as dry mouth or feeling dizzy could indicate dehydration.

4. Heat stroke: It is one of the critical side effects of overexercising. Heat stroke is usually caused when body temperature is not regulated. This can even lead to death. Individuals may experience symptoms such as increased heart rate. The body may also experience a sudden increase in temperature due to heat stroke.

5. Insomnia: Overexercising can cause stress hormones in the body to be released. High cortisol may affect the quality of sleep and even lead to insomnia.

Reference Link

https://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/health/too-much-exercise-in-summer-can-make-you-sick-all-about-the-side-effects-of-overexercising-101717830221680.html