What Happens To Your Body If You Stay In Bed For 30 Days Straight

1. Loss of blood volume

Image source: Reddit

After lying in bed for 30 days straight you could lose blood volume. This is because usually, your heart has to pump blood all around your body, working against gravity. But when you're lay down, blood pools in the lower regions which can trick your body into thinking there's too much blood - leading to your body producing less.

2. Bedsores

Image source: Reddit

If you ever thought 30 days lying in bed sounded good, think again. As was shown in the NASA study where a man was paid $17,000 to stay in bed for 70 days - bad things happen. What happens when you are constantly lay in bed, is the pressure from the skin touching the bed forms sores. These can be extremely sore and can get infected.

3. Muscle atrophy

Image source: Reddit

Of course, when you're lay down for this long, your muscles start to deteriorate as they are not being moved or worked at all with any form of physical use. And so naturally they start to decline, this is called muscle atrophy. You would definitely notice this after 30 days of lying in bed.

4. Reduced bone mass

Image source: Reddit

Bone mass is increased when our bodies are moving around in normal life, and engaging in weight-bearing activities. This leads to the stimulation of bone growth and the regulation of bone density. In bed, your bones are lay still and so there's no stimulation for growth, therefore reducing your bone mass.

5. Increased anxiety

Image source: Reddit

Lying in bed all day for 30 days straight can really lead to an increase in anxiety and depression according to various studies. One reason for this is that you have no stimulation, no interaction, and you are alone with your own thoughts day in day out. The lack of activity both mentally and physically also contributes largely to this.

6. Reduced circulation

Image source: Reddit

Circulation can improve when we're up, about, and active because our body gets our blood pumping and flowing around our body as the blood needs to reach all areas of our body. But lay down, the blood doesn't pump so much, meaning that it could lead to a decline in your circulation.

7. Feeling of lethargy

Image source: Reddit

Surprise, surprise, laying in bed all day does NOT make you feel less tired. No, in fact, you'll have less energy than ever before. Your mind and body will be so inactive that they begin to feel lazy and unmotivated and you'll end up feeling more lethargic and tired than ever before.

8. Joint pain

Image source: Reddit

Moving around can keep your joints supple. But when they are still for such a prolonged period of time, they will before stiff and sore and when you move it may feel very difficult at first. Staying still for such a prolonged time isn't beneficial for your bones, and can be damaging.

9. Body aches

Image source: Reddit

If you've ever lay in bed for too long (and we're not talking 30 days!), you probably noticed that your body started aching. Your body naturally wants to be active and to move, and staying in the same place will mean after some time they may become sore to move as they are no longer used to it.

10. Damaged veins

Image source: Reddit

Laying in bed for 30 days means that you are not sufficiently moving your body, meaning that your blood could start to pool in certain areas because the blood flow has reduced and because your body is still. This may lead to Deep Vein Thrombosis which is where blood clots develop in your veins.

11. Blurred vision

Image source: Reddit

Our eyes need blood flow to help them work properly. So when we are lay in bed for 30 days straight, our blood flow is reduced, which means that your eyes may not be getting the sufficient blood flow to be working as well as usual. You may find that your vision even starts to become blurred!

12. Digestive issues

Image source: Reddit

Because you are lay in bed, your digestive system and processes may slow down, meaning that you digestion is slower than it usually is. This could lead to both bloating and constipation due to your digestive system not having the physical movement it needs.

13. Change in heart rate

Image source: Reddit

You may notice that your heart rate drops if you have stayed in bed for a prolonged period of time, this is due to your heart not pumping the blood flow against gravity which works it harder. When you do finally stand up, you may notice that your heart races, and you may feel dizzy and light headed.

14. Lowered immune system

Image source: NBC News

Another effect of staying in bed for 30 days straight is that your immune system may lower. This may mean that you become more susceptible to viruses etc, as your body does not fight them off as effectively. Similarly, because your immune system is lowered when you eventually get out of bed and become exposed, you may catch things like viruses easier than usual.

15. Increased risk of respiratory problems

Image source: Reddit

Staying in bed for such a long time means that your respiratory system is not required to work the same as though you were physically active. But, consistent shallow breathing over a prolonged time may lead to a build-up of mucus on your lungs, which could lead to problems such as pneumonia.

16. Reduced cognitive ability

Image source: Reddit

Brains are used to constant stimulation. So, when you are lay in bed for such a long time, your brain's functions may slow, because there is no stimulation. Eventually, you may find that your cognitive abilities are affected and your memory may also worsen.

17. Insomnia

Image source: Reddit

I'm sure we've all napped too late, or stayed in bed too long, that when it comes to sleeping again we are up half of the night. So this is a similar thing, on a much bigger scale. If you've not moved from the bed for 30 days, you are not physically or mentally tired meaning that you may have insomnia as a result.

18. It may reduce your hormone production

Image source: Reddit

Some hormones are produced through movement, such as growth hormones and testosterone. Other hormones are based on cycles and rhythms. But staying in bed means that you could disrupt these normal processes, leading to a decrease in hormone production. As a woman, your period may cease for some time.

19. You could gain weight

Image source: Reddit

It makes sense, that when we stop moving our body for such a long time, we could gain weight. In terms of muscle mass, you may lose weight due to the atrophy, but if you continue a similar diet with no exercise you could of course gain weight when you say in bed for 30 days straight.

20. It may reduce your coordination

Image source: Reddit

Coordination is something that we use every day, even when we don't realise. It is something that is being consistently practiced, and the more we use it the better it gets. So, it makes sense that if we're lay in bed for 30 days straight - our coordination is going to start to decline!

21. It could increase the likelihood of infection

Image source: Reddit

If you stayed in bed for 30 days straight, the likelihood of you getting infections could increase. Your immune system is lower, meaning that you cannot fight off infection as you usually would. This is because all of the processes in your body may be slower, and your blood flow is less.

22. You might heal slower

Image source: Reddit

Due to the decrease in blood flow in your body, you could find that your wounds would not heal as fast as usual. This is because wounds need the oxygen from your blood to repair. With less oxygen to the area, they cannot heal sufficiently meaning that they could take a long time to finally clear up.

23. Your risk of UTIs could increase

Image source: Reddit

Your risk of getting a Urinary Tract Infection could increase due to the fact that you may not be consuming as much water. When you're lay in bed not moving much you won't feel the need to drink as much as usual. And therefore, you may be going to the toilet less, meaning the bacteria is staying in your bladder for longer.

24. Loss of strength

Image source: Reddit

You may have noticed how quickly your strength can decline. You take a week off for a vacation and skip the gym, and when you get back you feel back to square one! Well, imagine this but a lot more extreme, because when you're lay in bed, your muscles aren't having to do anything!

25. Lack of motivation

Image source: Reddit

There's no way that after 30 days staying in bed for no reason, that you can continue to feel motivated. After such a long time, our body and brain may not be functioning in their usual way, due to the fact that they are not used to doing this. And so, your motivation to do anything may just steadily decrease.

26. Your flexibility could decrease

Image source: Reddit

Flexibility is a skill that is formed through habitual moving and stretching. When we no longer stretch our body, we naturally become less flexible. So after 30 days straight, you'd probably noticed that when you do finally get out of bed you feel extremely inflexible.

27. You could start to smell

Image source: Reddit

Laying in bed for 30 days is not something that your body naturally wants to do. And it can affect a variety of bodily functions because they stop working as usual. After around 30 days, it is likely that you would start to smell bad - even if you're washing regularly!

28. Decrease in general physical fitness

Image source: Reddit

Your general fitness can only stay the same or improve if you are keeping up your normal physical routine. So when you stop, naturally your physical fitness starts to decline. You may have noticed when you skip a week at the gym - you already feel it. So staying in bed for 30 days will really lead to a decline in fitness.

29. Muscle stiffness

Image source: Reddit

Of course, when you're not moving for so long, your muscles naturally stiffen up because they are no longer moving like they usually do. In everyday life, our muscles are regularly working. When they stop, they stiffen up and it can even lead to inflammation.

30. Low mood

Image source: Reddit

Have you ever stayed in bed that bit too long? A lie in is always good now and then, but not to the extreme. It can lead to us feeling very low. It is good for our brains to be up and active - lying in bed for 30 days straight is definitely not the right thing in terms of picking up your mood.

31. It's not as amazing as it sounds

image source: reddit.com

How many of us have been rudely awoken by our alarm only to think 'I wish I could stay in bed forever'. You might think lying in your bed nonstop is a good thing - a time for relaxing, for not having to get up - but it's never going to be that way health wise! You'll start to miss that alarm..

32. You'll be sharing your bed with pee and poop

image source: reddit.com

Well, let's be honest - you haven't gotten out of bed for 30 days to go to the toilet, so where do you think all that mess is going to be? In the bed with you! You won't just be sharing your bed with that kind of mess, but it's going to lead to further health problems lying in your own waste.

33. The first thing to change will be your lungs

image source: thenewyorktimes.com

Your lungs, like everything else in your body - and the world - depend on gravity to operate as they should. If you're led horizontally for 24 hours, the bottom half of your lungs will start to crumple up, because they're not being weighted down by gravity!

34. Coughing might help, but not really

image source: reddit.com

One key piece of advice doctors give patients on bed rest is to sit up straight and cough once in a while - this is to try and adjust this lung change and shift mucus buildup. So you can try to do this, but when you're planning on staying in bed for many, many more hours after this initial 24, it's unlikely going to make a difference.

35. Every week you're in bed you lose around 1% bone density

image source: reddit.com

So by the end of 30 days you might have lost around 4% of your overall bone density, due to the fact that your muscles and bones don't have to do anything at all to hold you against gravity when you're led down! This is also why astronauts exercise so much!

36. Your bones then become more likely to fracture

image source: reddit.com

Loss of bone density means that your bones have less mass to them, which results in them being more brittle and vulnerable. This means that your bones are then more likely to fracture and become injured after 30 days lying in bed. So you may want to be careful turning yourself over..

37. It's going to get sweaty

image source: reddit.com

When you're under the covers for that long and even though you're not exactly working out to produce sweat, you're still going to get sticky and sweaty from being in bed that long - the same as when you've had a hot night and you wake up clammy. That, but x 30.

38. You're going to notice lack of shoulder, butt and thigh muscle

image source: reddit.com

When you begin to lose muscle mass from them not being used, the first places you're going to notice are your shoulders, your butt and your thighs - so let's hope you didn't spend too much time on those squats at the gym before, because that effort will be wasted now.

39. You'll likely get type 2 diabetes

image source: reddit.com

When your muscles are working as they should - when you're not in bed - they're using up the sugar in your body to function and use for energy. So when your muscles aren't being used, all that sugar is going to build up in your body, unused for energy, so increases the risk of Type 2 diabetes.

40. Bed sores could be so bad they rip through your skin

image source: reddit.com

We know you're very likely to develop bed sores during this time, but did you know how bad they could actually get within the 30 days? They could be so bad that they actually rip open the skin and tear through tissue, which means your bones and muscles would be exposed.

41. Your heart is pumping 30% less blood per beat

image source: reddit.com

Your heart is being very relaxed while you're, well.. relaxing in bed. This is the reason you're going to be feeling so tired, because it doesn't need to pump as hard to help you to function. Shockingly, it's actually going to be pumping 30% less blood per beat

- not per minute - per beat!

42. The longer you're there, the harder it's going to be to stand up

image source: reddit.com

We know this feeling all too well in everyday life, when we know if we sit down after a long day it's going to be impossible to get back up again. Well, the longer you stay in bed - so 30 days and more - the harder and harder it's going to be to ever get out. Your bones are going to end up too weak to support you.

43. You'll probably feel like you're in a prison

image source: reddit.com

The reality of staying in bed for 30 days is about more than the physical effects on your body, after all. As mentioned, anxiety and depression is likely, but you'll also start to feel trapped and imprisoned when you're looking at the same four walls day in, and day out.

44. And you'll feel completely helpless

image source: dailyhive.com

With the loss of your bone mass, muscle strength and the pain of what's happening to your body, you'll quickly become to feel out of control and helpless. You can no longer depend on your own strength so you may start to panic on needing to rely on others' help.

45. You'll be bored out of your mind

image source: scrolller.com

It goes without saying that lying in bed for this amount of time is going to leave you very bored, even with a pile of books, snacks or portable games next to you. There's only so much scrolling you can do on social media whilst in bed - though must of us try for a personal best on a daily basis!

46. But there are some exercises you can do in bed!

image source: prevention.com

This is one thing that doctors will recommend for people who are in a hospital bed for a while - exercises they can do in bed to keep them move around. You can combat a lot of the symptoms as long as you keep moving, but ultimately staying in bed for 30 days is a problem!

47. That won't be a long term solution, though

image source: reddit.com

Even if you do moves and stretches in bed, this doesn't mean theoretically you can stay in bed forever because you're doing yoga poses on your mattress. Movement will help with sores and blood flow, but you've still the situation of bones and muscles forgetting how to hold you up properly when you're standing!

48. 30 days in bed might sound a hypothetical, but it's a reality for some

image source: reddit.com

Of course the sad reality is that some people are bedridden for 30 days, longer or maybe the rest of their lives. Some people are in a coma and don't even know all this is going on. So the next time you think about staying in bed and having a lazy day, this might make you think differently about it!

49. Your body would very quickly become floppy and of no use

image source: reddit.com

30 days in bed would leave your entire body very floppy - which sounds kind of funny, but really it's not when you think all your muscles and bones are just turning to mush - we all remember the scene from Harry Potter when he loses the bone in his arm, right? Your body would become useless.

50. Tips to get moving

image source: reddit.com

It's important to remember that some negative effects mentioned here can also be applicable to people who sit down all day and don't move a lot, which is why it's so important to try to get up and move around every half an hour or so to keep yourself moving!