Physical activity is considered one of the main components of healthy living. In addition to the functions related to the prevention of excess body weight, systemic inflammation and chronic non-communicable diseases, a potential benefit of physical exercise in reducing communicable diseases, including viral pathologies.

Some ways in which exercise contributes to an healthy immune system include: exercise stimulates cellular immunity; exercise raises body temperature; exercise helps you sleep better; exercise decreases risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other diseases; exercise decreases stress and other conditions such as depression; and, exercise reduces inflammation.

The practice of physical activities strengthens the immune system, suggesting a benefit in the response to viral communicable diseases. Thus, regular practice of adequate intensity is suggested as an auxiliary tool in strengthening and preparing the immune system for COVID-19.

During and after physical exercise, pro-and-anti-inflammatory cytokines are released, lymphocyte circulation increases, as well as cell recruitment. Such practice has an effect on the lower incidence, intensity of symptoms and mortality in viral infections observed in people who practice physical activity regularly, and its correct execution must be considered to avoid damage.

Studies indicate that the modulation of the immune response related to exercise depends on factors such as regularity, intensity, duration and type of effort applied.

Moderate-intensity physical exercises stimulate cellular immunity, while prolonged or high-intensity practices without appropriate rest can trigger decreased cellular immunity, increasing the propensity for infectious diseases. According to the International Society for Exercise and Immunology (ISEI), the immunological decrease occurs after the practice of prolonged physical exercise, that is, after 90 min of moderate- to high-intensity physical activity. Prolonged high intensity training — especially without appropriate rest between sessions — can suppress your immune system. This is an important consideration if you’re a competitive athlete or are training for an endurance events like a marathon. In those cases, take extra care to give your body ample recovery time.

Furthermore, different studies suggest that regular physical exercise is directly related to decreased mortality from pneumonia and influenza, improvements in cardiorespiratory function, vaccine response, metabolism of glucose, lipids and insulin.

There is an improvement in immunovigilance, as well as a reduction in the systemic inflammatory process, factors that corroborate that regular physical activity helps to improve the immune system, while helping to prevent respiratory diseases and thus protect against infections such as COVID-19. Regular exercise of moderate intensity has already been associated with a reduction in respiratory infections compared to sedentariness.

For the elderly population, physical activity is even more essential, as these individuals generally have greater comorbidities and, in relation to the new coronavirus, are more vulnerable to contracting the disease.

Despite being one of the main strategies against COVID-19, social isolation has been related to behavioural and physiological changes, including the increased prevalence of sedentarism and eating disorders, resulting in negative consequences for metabolic health, such as weight gain, growth of fat tissue, hyperglycemia and insulin resistance and loss of muscle tissue. Since this condition can harm the body’s defences and contribute significantly to the reduction in individuals’ physical condition, functional and health loss, the adoption of healthy habits and an exercise routine can help in maintaining health.

Physical activity is considered a non-medication practice for the prevention and treatment of diseases of psychological, physical and/or metabolic origin. Regular physical exercise should be encouraged during social isolation as a preventive measure for health, given that exercise is essential during the period of fight against the spread of coronavirus.

The World Health Organization recommends that asymptomatic and healthy individuals should exercise at least 150 min per week for adults and 300 min per week for children and adolescents. These times can be distributed during the days of the week and according to the person’s routine.

In social isolation, the home environment has become the ideal and necessary place for physical activity. Activities that are satisfactory and that allow better exploring the home space should be sought. Activities of daily living such as organization of spaces, cleaning and maintenance also help in coping with COVID-19. In environments with children, playing and exercising with them is a great way to promote energy expenditure, thus leaving the beginning of sedentary rest. Meditation, stretching and relaxation are allies in combating a sedentary lifestyle. It is important to avoid long rest periods; but rather, alternate with active practices.

Options for aerobic activities to be performed at home include walk briskly around the house, up- and downstairs, dancing and jumping rope. When possible, walking or running outdoors, cycling, gardening work and family games are interesting alternatives, as long as infection prevention measures are maintained.

Recommended strength exercises include squats, sit-ups, push-ups, lunges and yoga, which can also help in anxious states. Resistance exercises to be performed at home, including exercises involving the muscles of the lower body, upper body and limbs, and lower limbs, which can be adapted for beginners in physical practice or experienced people.

Activities that make use of the individual’s own body weight, associated with resistance training as well as the use of elastic bands, provide excellent health results, results similar to those achieved by traditional gyms. Thus, objects such as backpacks, books, shopping bags and water bottles can be used as an auxiliary tool in resistance physical activity.

In general, exercising at a moderate to vigorous intensity for 60 minutes or less is optimal for the immune-boosting benefits of exercise. If you do this daily or almost daily, your immune and metabolic systems continue to strengthen, building on previous gains.

Yoga provides a gentle, natural means of supporting the immune system on a day-to-day basis—, no matter how hectic your schedule might be. Yoga helps lower stress hormones that compromise the immune system, while also conditioning the lungs and respiratory tract, stimulating the lymphatic system to oust toxins from the body, and bringing oxygenated blood to the various organs to ensure their optimal function.

Inverted postures or forward bends will focus the immune system on the sinuses, ultimately helping to ease congestion. These particular types of poses also work to prevent the complications of secondary infections by draining the lungs, opening the chest and preventing pneumonia. 

Since both colds and flu attack the bronchial passages, it makes sense that conditioning the lungs and maximizing one’s breathing capacity through pranayama (breathing practices) would build resistance to preying organisms. Nasal wash and alternate-nostril breathing will increase the resistance of your sinuses.

Finally, meditation also reduces the incidence of infectious ailments by de-stressing the body and mind. Ample research has shown that just 20 minutes of meditation a day increases endorphins, decreases cortisol levels, and fosters positive states of mind to promote better health.

Meditation and yoga increase a practitioner’s vagal tone, part of the body’s parasympathetic nervous system. The vagal tone regulates the body’s stress response, making them effective treatment options for stress-based trauma and inflammatory-based diseases.

Various mind and body therapies have been known to work as an adjunct treatment. Yoga and meditation-subsets of mind-body therapies improve immunity and provide protection against respiratory tract infections. Specific exercises of yoga and meditation are known to improve respiratory health and immunity; both are needed for protection against the current pandemic virus. There are many studies that highlight the result of yoga on communicable and acute condition diseases. 

Moreover, the beneficial effects of these traditional Indian interventions are not only limited to improved immunity but also have a positive impact on overall physical and physiological wellbeing and quality of life. So, in order to bring a control or subside the condition from deteriorating one needs to boost one’s immunity for which yoga can be used as an adjunct therapy not only as curative measure but also as preventive measure.

So are you incorporating some form of exercise most days of the week and taking movement breaks throughout the day? Above are even more reasons why you should be exercising in some way, shape or form to stay healthy all year round.