Below is a email from a patient touted his good health since beginning a stronger exercise regimen. He not only made the point that he felt better, but that he feels it prevents him from getting run-of-the mill infections, a particularly nice effect this time of year when the ‘cold season’ is heavy. He bolstered his comments with some science as well and I wanted to share this with other patients.Hi Doc,
Earlier today I mentioned to you that I had not had a cold since I began exercising almost daily in Feb. 2012. There is good evidence that exercising 30 minutes, 5 times a week reduces the number and severity of colds. That’s another perk to what you recommend.
A couple of short paragraphs from an article about the study:
The researchers found that the frequency of colds among people who exercised five or more days a week was up to 46% less than those who were largely sedentary — that is, who exercised only one day or less of the week.
In addition, the number of days people suffered cold symptoms was 41% lower among those who were physically active on five or more days of the week, compared to the largely sedentary group. The group that felt the fittest also experienced 34% fewer days of cold symptoms than those were felt the least fit.
Moreover, colds also appeared to be less severe for those in better shape. Among those who felt the fittest, the severity of symptoms dropped by 32% and by 41% among those who exercised most, the researchers note.
Before 2012, I exercised 3 times per week and had one or two colds per year. I cannot remember ever going two full years without catching a cold prior to the last two years. You may want to share this with your patients. I mentioned the study to my friend who teaches Management at ASU and is an avid runner. He told me that he had not had a cold in years and was exposed to lots of students with colds.
Best,
M