Everyone knows that getting your daily dose of exercise is vital to keep your immune system strong. But, now is the time to really adopt that habit into your everyday life because a major study has found that regular exercise will decrease your risk of dying from infectious diseases like COVID and will reduce your chances of catching the virus by a remarkable 31%.
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Exercise to keep COVID away
This landmark study is the first in the world to actually prove that routine exercise will protect you againstinfectious diseases. Researchers of the study concluded that there was a 31% decrease in the risk of getting the infection, and a 37% decrease in the risk of death caused by the disease. International researchers at the Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) added that exercise can also make vaccines up to 40% more effective. Sebastien Chastin, project leader of the study at GCU, said:
The clear message is stay active—it's not only good for your mental and general health but we now have the proof that it is also good for boosting your immunity.
But wait, it gets even better!
According to the research, you don’t need to go to the gym or do heavy sports. You can do simple exercises like running, jogging, walking, cycling and even dancing. However, choose an activity that gets you slightly out of breath, and make sure to get at least 150 minutes of exercise every week. Chastin added:
We found that regular exercise where you get out of breath boosts your immunity to infectious disease by 31% and it increases the number of immune cells in the body in the first line of defence which is the mucosal layer of antibodies.
You don’t need to go to a gym, as dancing around the living room, going for a run or walk is just as effective.
Chastin also suggests implementing a 12-week exercise program before you’re due to have your vaccination so that you can increase its effectiveness by 20% to 40%.
