Immunity Granted
Immunity Granted
Courtesy of Men's Health
STRATEGY #4: RECHARGE YOUR IMMUNE RESPONSE
We love Leno, but call it a night. According to Michael Irwin, M.D., a psychiatrist and sleep researcher at UCLA, if the amount of sleep you're logging decreases by 40 percent or more (for instance, you sleep 4 hours instead of the usual 7), the effectiveness of your immune system will decline by 50 percent. And for the immune system to operate at full strength, you'll need to sleep a straight 8, the amount shown to produce the highest levels of "natural killer cells," which attack viruses. But don't knock yourself out with alcohol, including alcohol-spiked cold medicines like NyQuil. "A single dose of alcohol impairs your sleep," says Dr. Irwin. Instead, wear light clothing--shorts and a T-shirt--during your waking hours at home; Japanese researchers found that this adjusts a person's core body temperature enough to improve sleep quality and boost the immune response.
STRATEGY #5: WORK OUT THE WHITE BLOOD CELLS
It's harder to hit a moving target, and that goes for a cold virus that's throwing punches, too.
In a recent University of Massachusetts study of 547 people, researchers found that the most physically active people had 25 percent fewer upper-respiratory infections over the course of a year than did the couch potatoes. Researchers believe that exercise may strengthen immune function, in part by increasing the body's production of white blood cells. "If you exercise, you should see two benefits: One, you'll have a reduced risk of catching a cold, and two, if you're unlucky enough to get a cold, you should have it for a shorter period of time," says Charles E. Matthews, Ph.D., the lead study author. That said, it is possible to sweat yourself sick. (Marathon runners are at a greater risk of upper-respiratory infections after a race.) So do what Matthews's study subjects did: Aim for 60 to 90 minutes of moderate activity daily, with walking counting just as much as weight training.
THE PREVENT DEFENSE
There are two ways we commonly catch a cold: by unconsciously putting our mitts in our noses or mouths or by sucking in the germs from someone else's sneeze or cough. Compulsive hand washing takes care of the first avenue of infection, but what about the airborne attack? Do the obvious--hold your breath for as long as you can after someone sneezes or coughs near you, recommends Murray Grossan, M.D., an ear, nose, and throat specialist at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles and author of The Sinus Cure. "Think of germ-laden air as colored smoke," says Dr. Grossan. "If you hold your nose, the colored smoke won't go in."
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