OK, forget the cure, is exercise good for a cold or bad for a cold? The answer, it appears, is in the eye of the exerciser. The New York Times' Gina Kolata directs our attention to a decade-old study published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. Researchers at Ball State University infected 34 young men and women with a rhinovirus, then
randomly assigned them to a group that would exercise or not. When all the data was in, the Times reports, they found no difference in symptoms between the group that
exercised and the one that rested. And there was no difference in the
time it took to recover from the colds. But when the exercisers
assessed their own symptoms, they were more likely than non-exercisers to believe that they felt better.
Read more in the New York Times.
Health, fitness and lifestyle tips for people over 50 who still like to play hard
Saturday, May 31, 2025
Answer in the eye of the exerciser eh? I like that.
Lots of people believe that exercising will actually boost their immune system and help them recover more quickly. But most doctors disagree. Proof is strong that if someone are feeling fatigued, feverish or really stuffy, going in a working out will probably make you feel worse.
While it may not help the fatigue side of illness, excercise may help clear the bronchioles of any fluids/mucus as well as increasing the heartrate which helps circulate blood to areas fighting infection. The downside -stressing a body which is already under duress, is going to complicate things. Probably best not to excercise when a fever is present.
Speaking from personal experience – excercising the day after or two (depending on how you feel) a fever breaks, seems to really help clear out the sinuses, lungs, throat etc. Plus, the shower after excercise really helps via the steam etc.