Physical Activity

Most people assume exercise makes you more likely to catch a cold, not less. That belief mostly comes from watching elite marathoners get sick after races. For everyday recreational sports, the opposite is closer to the truth. During a game, your body pumps immune cells, natural killer cells and neutrophils, into your bloodstream at higher rates. These cells patrol for threats, and regular players get this patrol boost several times a week. Over months, that adds up to a more responsive system. Why

Being tired from a match and being tired from a stressful day at your desk are not the same kind of tired. One drains your muscles and settles your nervous system down. The other keeps your mind spinning even after your body wants to shut off. I noticed this myself during a season of weekend football. On weeks I played, I was out within ten minutes of lying down. On weeks I skipped it because of travel, it took closer to forty, even

Ask most people how often they should exercise and they'll say three or four times a week. Ask a physiotherapist who works with recreational athletes and you'll get a different answer: daily movement, in some form, beats scheduled workouts almost every time. The reason isn't mysterious. Your body adapts to whatever rhythm you give it, and a body that moves every day stops treating exercise as a shock and starts treating it as normal. Sport specifically, not gym machines, gets credit here because