Flu and cold season is here. And obviously surprised us again :-). Are you battling another cough or cold? Feeling tired all the time? You may feel better if you follow a simple exercise routine a few times a week. Exercise helps decrease your chances of developing heart disease. It also keeps your bones healthy and strong. We do not know exactly if or how exercise increases your immunity to certain illnesses. There are several theories.
- Physical activity may help flush bacteria out of the lungs and airways. This may reduce your chance of getting a cold, flu, or other illness.
- Exercise causes changes in antibodies and white blood cells (WBC). WBCs are the body’s immune system cells that fight disease. These antibodies or WBCs circulate more rapidly, so they could detect illnesses earlier than they might have before. However, no one knows whether these changes help prevent infections.
- The brief rise in body temperature during and right after exercise may prevent bacteria from growing. This temperature rise may help the body fight infection better. (This is similar to what happens when you have a fever..
- Exercise slows down the release of stress hormones. Some stress increases the chance of illness. Lower stress hormones may protect against illness.
Exercise is good for you, but, you should not overdo it. People who already exercise should not exercise more – just to increase their immunity. Heavy, long-term exercise (such as marathon running and intense gym training) could actually cause harm.
During the 3 to 72 hours following an overly intense workout, there may be an “open window” during which viruses and bacteria may gain a foothold, increasing the risk of subclinical and clinical infection. Thus, risk of upper respiratory tract infections can increase when athletes push beyond normal limits.
It’s important to monitor how you feel to prevent overstressing your body. Recording your subjective feelings of how tired you are after each workout can help you adjust your training intensity if you feel you aren’t recovering between workouts. In addition to a well-planned, flexible training program record your heart rate each morning; if it increases day-to-day, you may be overstressing your body.
Make sure you are eating a healthy diet, staying hydrated, getting enough rest. That will decrease immune system stress and chance for you to catch that cold this season.
Good luck and till next time!
D.