Everyone has been told at one point or another that exercise is good for you. It seems pretty clear because being physically fit makes you stronger, less prone to injury, and prevents you from developing diseases like diabetes. However, exercise also boosts your immune system, helping to fight diseases, illnesses, and infections, like the flu and even COVID-19. This is especially important as cities begin to reopen, people return to work, and children go back to school. Here’s how exercise boosts your immune system:
Healthy Living - Exercising regularly helps you to live a healthy life and avoid developing health conditions like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. When you suffer from health issues like these or are inactive, it may affect your body’s ability to fight against pathogens and bacteria. If your body can’t defend itself, it can lead to higher rates of sickness and even mortality.
Increased Antibodies and White Blood Cells - Exercise increases blood and lymph flow, which helps boost the production of white blood cells and enhances their movement throughout the body. This increases the ability to fight new pathogens and bacteria.
Temperature - When you exercise, your body gets warmer and sweats to cool itself off. However, the slightly higher body temperature can actually help to prevent bacteria from growing and help fight infections better, much like when you have a fever.
Getting Rid of Bacteria - Physical activity causes us to breathe deeper and more quickly as we try to catch our breath. This can help expel bacteria and pathogens from the lungs and airways, reducing our chance of getting sick.
While exercising is good for your body and can help boost your immune system, you should make sure to not overdo it and push your body too far. If you completely exhaust your body, it won’t have any energy left to fight illnesses and infections.
At PHIT America Foundation, we believe that physical fitness is the key to solving many of the problems our country faces, including the COVID-19 pandemic, and it all starts with our children in school. As the country reopens, it is vital for kids to stay active while at school, boost their immune systems, and protect themselves from getting sick. Because of this, we aim to improve the physical and mental health of children all across the United States by providing kids with increased access to physical activity programs, like our AMPED programs, as well as getting physical education back in schools, and helping children afford to play organized sports. Find out how you can get involved and bring an AMPED program to a school near you!
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