Want to exercise but can not get out of the couch? A study says that our brains are wired to be lazy

VANCOUVER, BC – Sleeping on the couch is too easy, going to the gym is a struggle.

Does it look like you?

"The population is becoming more and more inactive," says Matt Boisgontier.

The University of British Columbia researcher and his team began to observe us, as well as our exercise habits. They noticed that we were all making an effort to exercise.

"We saw pictures of people on the Internet going to the gym and taking the escalator," says Boisgontier at KOMO. "There is a problem because it does not make sense."

Or is it?

Matt and his team started studying our exercise habits and found that it was not that we did not want to work. Many of us make conscious decisions to exercise. The problem lies in the execution of these decisions.

To prove it, the team sat in front of a screen and showed them images like a guy in a hammock, then a woman who was lifting weights. For each image, the subject of the test was to bring the mouse closer to the activities they had to do and the activities they were not supposed to do.

"They avoided sedentary behaviors more quickly and were faster with the approach of physical activity. It's perfect, "he says.

In other words, their clear intention was to exercise, but in real life, they simply did not follow. With the help of electrodes, Boisgontier traced the activity of the brain.

The conclusion: our brains can be wired for physical inactivity. That means we have to push BIG TIME to follow and exercise.

Being able to prove it in the lab is actually a breakthrough because after a few studies, Matt says the next step is clear.

"We will try to see what we can do to help people, train them to have different automatic responses in their brains."

An interesting conclusion: A public health campaign after a campaign to train us to exercise may fall on deaf ears … or lazy brains. We all plan to work, but there could be something in our brain that would prevent us from following.