By Emily Money

That stack of homework on your floor is starting to collect dust. Daily chores are waiting. Your friends are bugging you to go to the gym with them. You have endless things to do, but you just can’t find the motivation to get out of bed. So you tell yourself “I’ll do it later” and decide to take a nap.

We’ve all been there. Most people have had that innate realization that they should be up and doing something productive, but just can’t force themselves to do it. Laziness is hard for everyone, and it turns out that it might be inherent.

A study in the American Journal of Physiology shows that it is possible to be genetically predisposed to being lazy. Thirty-six inherited genes in the brain may play a role in motivation for physical activity. However, don’t blame your parents alone for your couch potato attitude just yet.

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development funded a study that has shown that laziness sets in as a result of inactivity. Therefore, teenagers are much more sluggish than children. More teens spend time in bed or on social media than outside playing compared to younger kids, so they are much more inactive.

This lazy lifestyle might be enticing, but increasing obesity in the country shows that it is dangerous. Other health implications such as amblyopia (lazy eye), diabetes, and chronic fatigue syndrome can result as well.

Even more frightening, heart disease can result from living a sedentary lifestyle. This makes frequent “lazy days” incredibly dangerous, as heart disease is the leading killer in the United States, killing an average of 597,689 people per year.

This is something that definitely has to change. Therefore, make a change and turn off Netflix. Get outside and make a healthy difference in your life. J