Anyone who has followed my blog posts or is a patient of mine or has been to a talk of mine knows that exercise is one of my BAEs (is that a word? Is it okay that I made it up?). I love exercise guys. And I have a whole post about the many benefits of exercise.
Well, wouldn’t you know, exercise specifically benefits the immune system?
Moderate intensity exercise on a regular basis has been shown to decrease the chances that one will become infected with viral illness. This 2019 study showed that acute exercise improves defense activity of the immune system and metabolic health, and that moderate intensity exercise was inversely related to illness. (That means that as the likelihood of someone participating in moderate intensity exercise increases, the likelihood of becoming ill decreases.)
This Science Daily article further reinforces that just because it isn’t safe to go to the gym, we aren’t saying it’s healthy or beneficial to stop exercising.
And this oldie but goodie from Cleveland Clinic is in question answer format and discusses even more about how exercise can improve your immune system.
Basically, you don’t want to do too much, because it has been shown that those that train as hard as elite athletes can see a decrease in their immune system, but at least 150 minutes weekly of cardiovascular exercise of some sort, (more is not harmful–again, we’re talking ELITE ATHLETES–doing this for a living or competition). is recommended. And if you took a look at some of the other benefits, exercise can help you beat some of the gloominess of dealing with all this COVID CRAZINESS!
So, get up GET MOVING, and stay healthy.