Exercise, Stress & Immunity During Midlife and Mid COVID19

Apr 7, 2020

First, I want to start with why “moderate exercise” inspired this podcast about exercise, stress & immunity. You’ve been told “everything in moderation” for a very long time. It may not be the ideal solution to our immune or to our hormone balancing goals.

Let me give you a description of zone training. [I describe this further in the video I’m inserting here].

Zone Training

1 2 3 4 5

Low – Moderate – High

“Moderate” = 3 = No Benefits Zone

Don’t confuse “moderate regular exercise” with what you want to do. Zone 3 is not a good place to be. You truly want lighter short workouts, harder short workouts, or longer light movement. 

Don’t confuse your “sweet spot” with moderate exercise.

It’s better intended as consistent exercise consisting of:

• Short duration high and low intervals (not to exceed 45 minutes a week total interval time) 1 – 2 – 3 sessions of 15 – 20 minutes at a time starting with 10 minutes and building over weeks
• 2x a week strength training sessions in which you achieve temporary muscular fatigue
• Plus:

Movement: longer lower intensity activity like golfing, gardening, and walking, hiking, easy biking (not for the purpose of burning calories)

Stress and immune system

            Overtraining – situations when your body is on overload

            Extreme cold plus regular exercise = overload

            Extremely dry air and altitude = overload

            Competitive stress and regular (or less) exercise = overload

            Stressful times - overload

Stress and endocrine system

            Negative effects of cortisol amplified

            Negative effects of stress on blood sugar

            Storage of fat and weight loss resistance more likely

            Fat-stored toxins depress the immune system

Stress and exercise

            Inactive adults have a depressed immune system

With more activity (circulation of immune properties enhanced) increased immune system

            With too much more activity – too much stress in an uncontrolled way

            During times of stress – doing less than you’re used for exercise enthusiasts and more than you were for sedentary is key

Your autonomic nervous system:

Sympathetic and Parasympathetic

Sympathetic = fight or flight

Parasympathetic = feed or breed and rest & digest

Stress stimulates the Sympathetic nervous system= fight or flight  (automatically)

You need to stimulate the Parasympathetic system= feed or breed, rest & digest, consciously

Parasympathetic system stimulation – deep breathing, the mental diversion from intellectual stressors, the controlled appropriate application of stress-relief-stress-relief

Your vagus nerve stimulation:

• Deep rhythmic breathing
• Humming
• Speaking and Singing
• Washing your face with cold water
• Meditation
• Balancing your gut microbiome (prebiotics, probiotics, elimination of foods that disrupt)

Leave your questions and comments below the show notes at https://www.flippingfifty.com/exercisestress