13 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT THE COMMON COLD
92 | May• 2019
we tend to spend more time indoors,
in close quarters with infected people
and surfaces.
3 On top of this, sucking up dry
winter air dries out the protective
mucus that lines your nasal cavities.
When that happens, your body can’t
do its job of catching potentially dan-
gerous microbes before they reach
your respiratory system. “The body
fights back by secreting more mucus
to mechanically flush out the virus,”
says internal medicine specialist Dr
Evangeline Lausier. So don’t blame
your runny nose on the cold: that’s
your own body telling you it’s fighting
back. But you can help your mucus
win this fight by drinking lots of fluids.
4 We get colds more often than we
might realise. Adults suffer an average
of two to three each year, and some
children get eight or more. They’re
costly, too. A 2012 survey found that
colds decreased productivity by a
mean of 26 per cent, while another
survey in the US estimated the annu-
al cost of lost productivity to be almost
$25 billion to the local economy.
5 That said, the best cold medicine
is free: rest. When you get sick, your
body doesn’t want to do anything
other than tackle the virus. If you do
ignore the symptoms and go about
your normal routine, the cold can
have an even greater negative impact
on your health – and your brain. In a
study of nearly 200 people published
inBrain, Behavior, and Immunity, re-
searchers found that those with colds
reported poor alertness, a negative
mood, and psychomotor slowing –
their thought processes were mud-
died and their reaction times were
slower than those of healthy people.6 But try not to rest while lying
f lat on your back. That can make
things worse because gravity may
cause the congestion in your nasal
passages to drip down your throat,
making it sore and causing a cough.
Coughing while lying flat isn’t very
comfortable, and it can keep you
awake. Instead, prop yourself up-
right with pillows to “reduce the
cough receptor irritation in the back
of the throat,” suggests Dr Lausier.
This can also help move that mucus
along and make it easier for you to
breathe.7 Although your body needs rest,
Dr Lausier says an excellent way to
boost your immune system is with a
bit of light exercise. It’s not a surprise
that regular exercise helps you fight
germs. One study found that over-
weight or obese post-menopausal
women who exercised got fewer
colds than those who didn’t. A 2014
clinical review showed that regular
moderate-intensity exercise may
help prevent a cold. One explana-
tion may be that exercise helps flush
germs out of the lungs and airways.