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Research Reveals How Many Hours of Exercise Will Help Fend Off Illness This Winter Season

Every winter season, we tune into natural remedies to chop the risk of common cold. Several lifestyle changes and natural remedies can help you pass the cold weather and emerge unscathed.

Some of these include drinking chicken soup, eating immune-boosting foods, and following hygiene practices to minimize the risk of getting ill. One such measure is exercise, which the latest research applauds as well.

Exercise Helps Enhance Your Immune System

David Nieman, Ph.D. researcher on all the factors that can strengthen the immune system, preparing it to safeguard the body against common cold, flu, and other winter infections. He learned that exercise ranked as the strongest contender among all the factors, helping to enhance immunity the most.

Dr. Nieman explained about this in an article on Times, “If you look at all the lifestyle factors that decrease the number of days you suffer from common cold, being a physically active and fit person is the most important.”

It is imperative to quickly recap over here that your immune system is the defense system of your body. it helps safeguard you against viruses, bacteria, and other disease-causing pathogens.

The stronger your immune system, the better fight that your body puts against pathogens. In other words, you are more resistant to getting sick.

How Many Hours Should You Exercise?

Dr. Nieman and his team highlight that there is an ideal duration that you need to dedicate to exercising. Other than that, you need to keep physically active. The research shows that the exercise sweet spot is 30 to 60 minutes of light aerobic exercise.

These exercises include cycling, jogging, and walking among other activities. What’s more, elongated exercise periods can backfire. Dr. Nieman’s research outlines that 75 minutes of exercise can throw the immune system out of order.

Therefore, less is more in this instance. Essentially, when your exercise, your blood circulation picks up. This also increases the blood circulation of white blood cells and other cells that fight flu.

This helps keep you protected against diseases. However, 75 minutes of continuous exercise spikes the activity of cortisol levels, which is the stress hormone. As a result, the immune system fails to safeguard you by much.

You Need To Continue Staying Physically Active

There is just one catch concerning the research. The white blood cells (WBCs) that increasingly circulate in your body decline after three hours of workout. Their levels go back to their pre-workout levels.

To maintain the WBC activity though, you need to stay active. In other words, you will have to try to walk to the general store instead of taking the cab. This may take a lot of work but it is worth it.

In A Nutshell

Exercise boosts your immunity so that you can fend off diseases. Give 30-60 minutes to daily exercise, revolving around brisk aerobic exercise. In addition, stay physically active throughout the day instead of being curled up in your blanket.

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