Feeling under the weather – Client/Class handout by Jo Everill-Taylor B.Sc
As we leave the summer and move through into Autumn, many of us can start to suffer from the darker nights coming in early, the damp weather and a change in our nutrition. We leave the summer with strong immune systems generally from healthier lighter food, more sunshine, more outdoor activity, more exercise generally and more water and sleep. How is your immune system doing? As we move out of the holiday season into Autumn it is important that we look to the factors we can influence to stay well, fight off common colds and boos the immune system. Regular exercise plays a big part in that.
The exercise that you take part in all helps to enhance your immune system. As those dark nights draw in, don’t give up your exercise for the following reasons.
- There is a good chance that you are boosting your immune system through regular moderate exercise. You don’t even need to work your hardest to do it.
- Exercise helps 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.
- 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. (similar to the effects of a fever.)
- Exercise slows down the release of stress hormones. Some stress increases the chance of illness. Lower stress hormones may protect against illness.
Those are some of the good factors coming from exercise. Factors we should be aware of that have all been associated with impaired immune function and increased risk of catching colds or other illness are:
Stress
Poor nutrition
Fatigue and lack of sleep
Cigarette smoking
Older age
Overtraining syndrome
Whilst some of these can be changed easily, others such as age cannot!
So give yourself an immune system boost- Regular Moderate Exercise Boosts Immunity!
Why? Research continues to support a link between this and a healthy immune system. How does moderate exercise give a temporary boost in the production of antibodies, the cells that attack bacteria. These cells appear to work more slowly in people who don’t exercise. As described in the benefits above exercise provides a boost to these cells especially in the few hours post exercise so exercising regularly is a must. It basically speeds them up so they detect the infection sooner and can fight it more quickly. It is believed that regular, consistent exercise can lead to substantial benefits in immune system health over the long-term too.
During moderate exercise immune cells circulate through the body more quickly and are better able to kill bacteria and viruses. After exercise ends, the immune system generally returns to normal within a few hours, but consistent, regular exercise seems to make these changes a bit more long-lasting, they become chronic changes through the adaptive nature of our bodies. Our bodies basically adapt to a new level of working. All of these benefits mean that people who exercise often have been have less than half the number of sick days per year as those that don’t exercise.
According to Professor David Nieman, Dr. PH., of Appalachian State University, when moderate exercise is repeated on a near-daily basis there is a cumulative effect that leads to a long-term immune response. According to his book, “Nutrition and Exercise Immunology,” exercise increases antibody production by 300%, and increases the number of infection-killing T-cells circulating in the body. Once these antibodies form, they hang around in your body, ready to be called upon in case of further germ invasion.
But beware-Too Much Exercise May Decrease Immunity-more than 90 minutes of high-intensity endurance exercise can make athletes susceptible to illness for up to 72 hours after the exercise session. This is important information for those of you who compete in longer events such as marathons or triathlons. Cortisol and adrenaline, known as the stress hormones, raise blood pressure and cholesterol levels and suppress the immune system. This effect has been linked to the increased susceptibility to infection in endurance athletes after extreme exercise (such as marathon running or Ironman-distance triathlon training).
If you are already ill, you should be careful about exercising too intensely. Your immune system is already taxed by fighting your infection, and additional stress could undermine your recovery.
In general, if you have mild cold symptoms and no fever, light or moderate exercise may help you feel a bit better and actually boost your immune system. Work it off!
Intense exercise will only make things worse and likely extend your illness.
So, to stay fit and well you only need to exercise 30 minutes every day to boost your immune system. This will speed up the cells in the immune system and keep you healthy through the winter. Any moderate exercise programme, including going to the gym every other day, classes, Pilates or Yoga, could give you that gentle boost you need to stay on top of things and ward off those bugs- could explain why I seldom catch a cold! Speak to your trainer to find out the best exercise for you.
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Jo, a senior tutor and presenter with Drummond Education and a national lead on the Pilates method. With over 10 years experience in health and fitness she brings her enthusiasm for improving the way people move and function to every session she delivers. Her specialist areas include Pilates and biomechanics, and this combined with a fun approach to training means you leave her sessions feeling good on every level, both physically, mentally and emotionally.