Going down with a cold is never pleasant and the common cold is indeed very common, with adults in the US experiencing two to three colds per year on average, according to the CDC.
While the general recommendation to get over a cold is to rest and allow your body to recover, I will admit to being guilty of not following this advice and instead going for a run, hoping to “sweat it out”.
Let’s be real, it sucks feeling bad and not being able to exercise on top only makes matters worse.
Therefore, you can’t really blame me for wanting to believe in the idea that you can sweat out a cold. But wanting something to be true and it being true in real life are two different things. So, I turned to the science.
Before we dive into it it’s important to mention that you shouldn’t exercise if you will put others at risk. If you generally exercise with a team or inside a shared space avoid these settings until you’re healthy again.
Exercise and the immune system
The immune system is integral to the body’s defence against infection and also influences other systema such as tissue repair, metabolism, and sleep.
There’s strong evidence demonstrating that regular exercise boosts your immune system in the long term and that people with high levels of fitness are much better protected from illness. Moderate aerobic exercise can half your risks for respiratory infections and reduce the severity of their symptoms.
But what if you’re already ill?
From a purely practical standpoint, by having your body fight the virus, a cold is likely to make you feel tired and unlikely to want to exercise. If you only have mild symptoms however, I wouldn’t blame you for wanting to break a sweat.
On the surface, science recommends not exercising (or at least not exercising hard) as your immune system is “temporarily supressed” after prolonged intense exercise. This means that your body will have a harder time fighting viruses off. If you’re already ill, the physical stress of exercise can make the immune system’s task more difficult.
Additionally, you’ll be losing important fluids and electrolytes as you sweat, which could potentially dehydrate you and have the opposite effect as desired. Staying hydrated can reduce congestion and is important for recovery.
The idea of consciously rising your core temperature through exercise to slow the ability of a virus to multiply or to enhance the immune system’s functionality is sadly not supported by science. While it is applicable for a fever, exercise doesn’t have the same effect.
Can you sweat out a cold?
By exercising with a cold, the main aim is to make the illness go away faster. While it doesn’t seem like this is possible – research shows that moderate exercise has no effect on the duration or severity of a cold – some exercise in the right circumstances might provide temporary symptom relief.
For example, physical activity can temporarily relieve cold symptoms such as nasal congestion. Otherwise there’s no evidence that exercising will help you heal faster.
Once the virus is in your body, sweating won’t make it go away.
You’ll only feel better after your immune system has fought it off.
Nevertheless, while exercising might not help you heal faster, being physically active regularly will cut down the number of colds you get overall.
Read more: Why Are Athletes Likely to Drink More?
