A recent Finnish study showed that years of physical inactivity leave a lasting impact on the body, as decreased regular activity is associated with increased levels of physiological stress in middle age.

Earth.com stated in a report that these results reconsider daily movement as a long-term factor that controls the amount of stress the body endures when it reaches the forties.

The results were based on following adults during the early and middle stages of life, and showed that daily movement patterns correspond to later levels of biological stress.

Researcher Maja Korpisaari and her colleagues at the University of Oulu tracked how a period of sustained inactivity turns into an increase in physiological stress by age 46.

The team analyzed these changes within the 1966 Northern Finland birth cohort.

The report explained that people who remained inactive or reduced their activity over the years carried this burden with them, while those who maintained or regained regular movement did not show a similar buildup.

This discrepancy sets a clear basis for the rest of the analysis, focusing on how stress is measured and why regular activity changes its course.

The researchers compared activity levels with the recommendations of the World Health Organization, which recommends at least 150 minutes of activity per week.

Participants counted the quick exercises they chose in their free time, that is, activities that made breathing difficult for several minutes.

The team divided people into 4 trajectories: maintaining activity, remaining inactive, increasing activity, or decreasing activity over time.

This simple classification allowed the researchers to test whether consistency in movement was more important than any single burst of exercise.

Doctors call this accumulation adaptive burden, meaning “the cumulative cost that the body pays as a result of repeated responses to stress.”

When stress hormones remain high, the heart, immune system, and metabolism continue to modify their functions, and these modifications may become harmful.

Increased pressure

The study confirmed that people who remained inactive throughout life had an approximately 18% higher stress burden at middle age than those who remained active.

Adults who were active at age 31 but reduced their activity by 46 showed an increase of about 10% in burden.

The results indicate that the importance of physical activity is not limited to a certain age stage, but rather that regular exercise throughout life may protect the body from the effects of long-term stress.

The study concluded that regular physical activity can reduce stress after many years.