If someone asks the question, how do we burn calories? The typical response will be exercises such as running, swimming, or lifting weights. However, our bodies burn calories in many other ways that are very strange and surprisingly mundane. Here are seven bizarre ways in which our bodies are constantly burning calories.
1. Laughing
As strange as it might sound, a good laugh is healthy for you in more than one way. Aside from lifting your mood, reducing stress, and releasing feel-good hormones like endorphins, laughing also burns calories. This is due to the increase in heart rate and muscle activity. The diaphragm, as well as the muscles in your face and core, are kicked into gear when you start laughing. If you laugh for 10-15 minutes, it is said that you could burn between 10 and 40 calories.
2. Chewing Gum
Another activity that increases muscle movement is when you are enjoying a piece of gum. Chewing gum can burn around 11 calories per hour, according to a study from the Mayo Clinic. Although chewing gum does not seem like much activity is involved, if you try chewing sugar-free gum for a few hours a day, you will lose a lot of calories. Additionally, studies have shown that chewing gum can potentially reduce your calorie intake in the long run.
3. Shivering
Another bizarre thing that burns calories is when you are cold to the point that you are shivering. Although it might not feel pleasant to be so cold, shivering uses energy because it occurs when your muscles contract rapidly to generate heat. According to studies, if you are shivering for 10–15 minutes, you can burn as many calories as an hour of moderate exercise. When you shiver, brown fat, which is a type of fat that burns calories to keep the body warm, is activated.
4. Standing Instead of Sitting
While you might think that nothing happens when standing, studies show that standing burns around 50% more calories than sitting. When you are standing, different muscles are engaged, and your metabolism remains slightly more active than sitting. Whether you are home or at work, if you stand for a few minutes each day, you start burning some more calories. There are other pros to standing, which include improving your posture and your blood flow, as well as reducing the risk of experiencing back pain from constantly sitting.
5. Fidgeting
Persons who tend to fidget a lot will be happy to know that they are burning extra calories when they do so. Research explains that someone who fidgets uses energy and therefore can burn an extra 100 to 800 calories a day, depending on the intensity and duration. Whether you are tapping your feet, drumming your fingers, or continuously shifting in your seat, fidgeting helps. It is said that people who fidget typically have lower body fat levels due to the low-level movement they are always doing.
6. Thinking Hard
Burning calories by simply thinking hard might be the most bizarre thing ever when it comes to burning calories. It might sound unbelievable, but research shows that your brain uses about 20% of your resting metabolic rate. This means that lots of energy is used for intense mental activity. If you are fixated on solving a puzzle or thinking hard about a matter, you burn a few extra calories because your brain’s glucose demand increases slightly.
Conclusion
We are constantly burning calories without even going to the gym. However, you would need to work out if you are embarking on a fitness journey and your goal is to get in shape. Nevertheless, these six bizarre ways of burning calories offer a little extra calorie-burning potential, and this helps to make your daily life a bit more productive for your body.
