{"id":32437,"date":"2025-04-19T08:14:13","date_gmt":"2025-04-19T08:14:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/32437\/"},"modified":"2025-04-19T08:14:13","modified_gmt":"2025-04-19T08:14:13","slug":"5-surprising-signs-youre-over-exercising-according-to-experts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/32437\/","title":{"rendered":"5 surprising signs you\u2019re over-exercising, according to experts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hormonally, this can be due to increased cortisol<\/a> levels. \u201cCortisol is the stress hormone that initiates the fight-or-flight response,\u201d explains Kocsis. “Repeated high-intensity workouts or prolonged exercise increase the body\u2019s production of cortisol. Persistently high cortisol hinders the thyroid\u2019s workings, reducing levels of T3 and paving the way to stubborn weight gain, thinning hair, and brain fog,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Disrupted sleep<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exercise can help you sleep<\/a>. Too much, though, and you may find it has the opposite effect. \u201cYou might notice that your sleep takes a hit, and you will either struggle to fall asleep or wake up a lot during the night, which can be linked to elevated stress hormones like cortisol staying too high for too long,\u201d says Dr Alafifi.<\/p>\n

\u201cExcessive cortisol has a detrimental impact on sleep hygiene,\u201d Kocsis concurs. \u201cThe stress hormone will ensure that a person takes longer to fall asleep, wakes up frequently throughout the night, and decreases the amount of REM sleep obtained. As a result, the body will not be able to recover from any exercise,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Irregular or absent periods<\/strong><\/p>\n

If your periods are all over the place, excess exercise could be responsible. \u201cIf women are training in excess, hold low body fat, and in a calorie deficit, the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis (a crucial part of the endocrine system that regulates reproduction and sexual development) is hindered,\u201d says Kocsis. \u201cAs a result, a person may experience irregular or even absent periods<\/a>. This is often referred to as exercise-induced amenorrhea,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cMissing periods is a major red flag,\u201d agrees Dr Alafifi. \u201cThis is your body’s way of telling you that it is under too much stress and it doesn’t have enough energy to support non-essential functions like reproduction,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

Lower sex drive, fatigue and depression<\/strong><\/p>\n

Your mood is one of the first things that can be sent out of whack when your body isn’t getting the rest it needs. \u201cThe most common early signs of over-exercising are constant fatigue<\/a>, cramping, mood swings (feeling more irritable or emotionally low) and decreased immunity even after rest days,\u201d says Dr Alafifi.<\/p>\n

Once again, your hormones play a role. \u201cTestosterone is vital for sexual health, mood, energy, and overall health for both men and women,\u201d says Kocsis. \u201cOvertraining potentially reduces the production of testosterone, seeing a person experience lower libido, muscle wasting, extreme fatigue, and depression<\/a>,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

Increased illness or injuries<\/strong><\/p>\n

In light of all the other signs, it probably won’t surprise you that if you’re run-down from over-exercising, you’re more likely to be at risk of illness and injury, too. \u201cOther symptoms can also include getting sick<\/a> more often and picking up injuries like stress fractures or joint pain,\u201d confirms Dr Alafifi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hormonally, this can be due to increased cortisol levels. \u201cCortisol is the stress hormone that initiates the fight-or-flight…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32438,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4322],"tags":[1630,17811,105,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-32437","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-fitness","9":"tag-fitness-tips","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114363633686316756","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}