When people think about burning calories, they often think of activities such as using exercise equipment at the gym and going for walks. There are also less obvious and surprising ways that you burn calories each day.

Sleep

Yes, we all sleep, although many of us do not feel that we are getting enough hours at night. Did you know that you burn calories while you sleep? While you are asleep, you breathe and carry out other life functions that require energy. While it is a low number, there are still calories lost during slumber.

The Livestrong website estimates that a 160-pound person burns 69 calories per hour while sleeping. If that person sleeps for eight hours, the total is 552 calories. That person is not even awake! The statistics change depending on the person’s weight; an individual with a lower weight will burn fewer calories on average per hour than a person who has a higher weight. With higher weight, comes higher rate of calories lost.

Housework

Yes, the household chores you complete regularly also burn calories. Housework is a great form of exercise. For example, cleaning windows tone your arms. Making beds is also a great arm workout, and scrubbing floors helps work your abdominal muscles.

The number of calories lost, as with sleep, is dependent on a person’s weight. The Best Quick Weight Loss Center website reports that on average dusting burns 174 calories per hour and vacuuming burns 194 calories per hour. Burning calories while keeping the house clean is a win-win situation!

Watching TV

Watching television, while sitting quietly on the couch, is another surprising way to burn calories. Watch the TV show The View and burn calories at the same time! Note that the activity is specifically “sitting quietly on the couch”. More calories are lost if the person is standing up or is moving on the couch.

When sitting on the couch watching television, Diet & Fitness Today explains that the average 190 pound man burns 86 calories in an hour. The average female, at 163 pounds, is 74 calories per hour. Both the man and the woman burn about one calorie per minute.

The calorie counts for sitting while watching television and sleeping are significantly lower than exercise sessions. Housework, however, involves exercises that burn a larger amount of calories and various parts of the body are stretched while completing chores. Regular exercise, whether outside, at home, or at the gym is recommended for a healthy lifestyle. These surprising ways to burn calories occur in addition to a fitness routine.

Sources:

Livestrong Website  http://www.livestrong.com/article/280877-about-calories-burned-during-eight-hours-of-sleep/

Best Quick Weight Loss Center  http://www.best-quick-weight-loss-center.com/Burning-Calories.html

Diet & Fitness Today  http://www.dietandfitnesstoday.com/caloriesBurnedInfo.php?id=141

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Stock.xchnge  http://www.sxc.hu/photo/257960  Sebastian Schaeffer