During the course of the past two weeks I have quickly come to see how my early morning run, that I used to enjoy prior to the lockdown, boosted my energy levels for most of the day.And although running is my favourite way of obtaining a regular dose of exercise and a big energy boost, I am finding it very difficult to muster the enthusiasm and motivation that is required to run around (and around) the garden for 30 minutes each morning!
I am just grateful, in an ironic sort of way, for the fact that the very gradual but insidious deterioration that is now slowly unfolding within my body as a direct result of my inactivity is invisible to me. And, of course, herein lies a key danger for those of us who, like me, have not yet found a regular way to keep active during this lockdown period.
Recent scientific research has shown that a lack of physical activity has a negative impact on immune system functioning. This is because of the chronic, systemic inflammation that starts to take place within your body and brain when you don’t regularly exercise. And this process happens slowly and silently and you can't feel it happening until it is often too late.
Inflammation is part of the body's immune response. The body sees a problem such as stress, injury, or foreign invaders (such as bacteria or viruses) and enacts this response as a defense. Whether this is beneficial or not depends on the type of inflammation and how much time the body remains in that state.
Acute inflammation is short-term, with effects subsiding after a few days. It occurs in response to things like minor injuries (e.g. cuts, scrapes, sprains) and minor sicknesses (sore throats, etc). Damaged body tissues rely on this type of inflammatory response in order to heal.
Chronic inflammation (which is almost always systemic inflammation) is long-term, persistent, and unhealthy, even if it is only low-grade. When this process does not resolve, the immune system is compromised and health issues emerge, including almost all age-related, and chronic, diseases.
In each situation, the number of white blood cells is increased in order to accelerate healing.
In chronic inflammation, white blood cell activity is increased more than necessary, however, and remains elevated for long periods of time. This prolonged state of emergency can trigger disease processes, causing lasting damage to heart, brain, and other organs. It also slows recovery, and negatively impacts your immune system thus increasing rates of infection and sickness. Your own defenses literally bombard you with “friendly fire”.
Not only does exercise decrease the levels of certain proteins, such as cytokines, involved in chronic inflammation but activity also keeps your body and organ systems in optimal health.
A lack of physical activity means that all of your organ systems, including your musculoskeletal system (involving your muscles and bones), your cardiovascular system (involving your heart, lungs and blood vessels), your gastrointestinal system (involving your stomach, intestines and related organs), and your endocrine system (involving your hormones and the glands that produce them), quickly start to falter and leave you more vulnerable to infectious diseases.
With little or no activity:
- All muscles in your body, including your heart, start to atrophy. A weak heart means that it's harder for your cells to get oxygen.
- Your blood vessels become thicker and less flexible, while your blood becomes stickier, increasing your blood pressure and your risk for a blood clot.
- Your muscle cells start using less insulin, and the binding sites for it start to disappear. As a result, your body becomes less responsive to the hormone, which can lead to type 2 diabetes.
- Your circadian rhythm, which is enhanced through exercise, becomes disrupted which, in turn, interferes with your sleep cycle and causes sleep problems.
However, just as inactivity promotes chronic inflammation so exercise reduces it. And research suggests that only 20 minutes of moderate exercise is all that you need in order to experience the wide range of positive consequences, of which an improved immune system is but one.
Researchers have shown that exercise improves your body’s anti-inflammatory response by activating the sympathetic nervous system. This works to increase heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate, which helps your body keep up.
During this time your body releases adrenaline and other hormones into the bloodstream which activate the immune cells. And just a 20-minute session of exercise is enough to suppress the production of inflammatory cytokines.
This is very good news for all those people with reduced strength or mobility who are intimidated by the thought that physical exercise needs to be intense and for a long duration.
So, if you have been inactive, you will need to start slowly. You can keep adding more exercise gradually. The more you can do, the better… But just do what you can. Eventually, your goal can be to get the recommended amount of exercise for your age and health.
Below are just some of the many different ways to get exercise at home; try to find the types that are most enjoyable / do-able for you:
• Housework and gardening are all physical work. To increase the intensity, simply do them at a more vigorous pace.
• Keep moving while you watch TV. Lift hand weights, do some yoga stretches, or pedal an exercise bike (if you have one).
• Work out at home with a workout video (on your TV or on the internet).
• Stand up when talking on the phone.
• If you do not have exercise equipment then perhaps you may be able to substitute household items for equipment such as yoga balls, exercise mats, stretch bands, and hand weights.
News supplied by Alistair Mork- Chadwick.