Should you exercise when you're sick?
Should you exercise when you're coming down with a cold? Well, contrary to what you might have heard, the research tells us this may in fact be a good idea! At least, it is unlikely to do you any harm unless you go too hard and some studies have clearly shown that regular exercise will help prevent catching colds in the first place.
Active People Suffer Fewer Colds
One study in 2002 found those who exercised regularly suffered up to 30% fewer colds. Some studies even show a much larger difference.In a 2006 trial, regular, moderate exercise reduced the risk of colds by half. The 12-month study examined over 100 sedentary, overweight, postmenopausal women, none of whom smoked or took hormone-replacement therapy. Half did aerobic exercise and the other half attended a weekly stretching class only.Those doing aerobic exercise worked out for about 30 minutes a day, with brisk walking accounting for the bulk of their exercise. Overall, the women who did aerobic exercise had half the risk of colds than those who did stretching only. Interestingly, in the final three months of the study, the stretching-only group were 3 times more likely to get a cold than the exercisers.The fact that the immunity was strongest in the final 3 months of the trial suggests it is important to stick with exercise long term to get the full effects. You can't store up your exercise, even athletes will lose conditioning after about two weeks of not exercising.
Don’t go nuts
If you have enough energy to tolerate it, increasing your body temperature by sweating from exercise can help kill many viruses. But you need to listen to your body and not go too hard because you can stress your immune system even more and prolong your cold.This is because intensive exercise boosts production of cortisol, a stress hormone. Cortisol can inhibit the activity of white blood cells that attack viruses. So running a marathon, for example, can actually increase your chances of getting sick. In fact, elite endurance athletes usually suffer up to 6 times more upper respiratory infections during a year, compared to average, active individuals!So basically, listen to what your body is telling you, and if you feel too tired, don't go nuts. But if you're thinking of skipping your workout simply because you've been told you "shouldn't exercise when you’re sick," then you may want to question that, as it could actually help you feel better, sooner. Some gentle exercise will help mildly stimulate your immune system.
It’s all about your immune system
Many people think common colds are caused by bacteria, but this is incorrect. Colds are triggered by viruses, which is why using antibiotics to treat a cold doesn’t work. Viruses are much smaller than bacteria and have entirely different structures. The only thing you're doing by taking an antibiotic for a cold is unnecessarily weakening your immune system by destroying all the bacteria in your gut - both good and bad - which is where 80% of your immune system resides.That said, it's important to recognise that although the virus actually triggers the cold symptoms, the virus isn’t the real cause of the cold. Basically, colds and flu are symptoms of immune system deficiencies – your immune system is normally fully capable of eradicating viruses like colds. The only time the virus can take hold is when your immune system has been compromised.So it’s all about improving your immune system and exercise helps here, but another important (and related) factor is sunshine, or more specifically, vitamin D. In fact, there's compelling evidence suggesting colds and flu might be little more than symptoms of vitamin D deficiency. The connection between vitamin D and reduced immune function is so strong that boosting your vitamin D levels anytime you feel a cold coming on should be the first thing you do.Besides a lack of exercise and vitamin D, other things that make you susceptible to catching a cold include:
Eating too much sugar (particularly fructose) and too many grains
Not getting enough rest or sleep
Stress
So there you have it, keep exercising through winter and get outside as much as possible to stave off the dreaded flu! If you’re really feeling gross, even a nice walk outside could be just what the doctor ordered.