13 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT THE COMMON COLD
92 | May• 2019
wetendtospendmoretimeindoors,
inclosequarterswith infectedpeople
andsurfaces.
3 Ontopofthis,suckingupdry
winterairdriesouttheprotective
mucusthatlinesyournasalcavities.
Whenthathappens,yourbodycan’t
doitsjobofcatchingpotentiallydan-
gerousmicrobesbeforetheyreach
yourrespiratorysystem.“Thebody
fightsbackbysecretingmoremucus
tomechanicallyflushoutthevirus,”
saysinternalmedicinespecialistDr
EvangelineLausier.Sodon’tblame
yourrunnynoseonthecold:that’s
yourownbodytellingyouit’sfighting
back.Butyoucanhelpyourmucus
winthisfightbydrinkinglotsoffluids.
4 Wegetcoldsmoreoftenthanwe
mightrealise.Adultssufferanaverage
oftwotothreeeachyear,andsome
childrengeteightormore.They’re
costly,too.A 2012 surveyfoundthat
coldsdecreasedproductivitybya
meanof 26 percent,whileanother
surveyintheUSestimatedtheannu-
alcostoflostproductivitytobealmost
$25billiontothelocaleconomy.
5 Thatsaid,thebestcoldmedicine
isfree:rest.Whenyougetsick,your
bodydoesn’twanttodoanything
otherthantacklethevirus.Ifyoudo
ignorethesymptomsandgoabout
yournormalroutine,thecoldcan
haveanevengreaternegativeimpact
on your health – and your brain. In a
studyofnearly 200 peoplepublished
inBrain,Behavior,andImmunity, re-
searchersfoundthatthosewithcolds
reportedpooralertness,a negative
mood,andpsychomotorslowing–
theirthoughtprocessesweremud-
diedandtheirreactiontimeswere
slowerthanthoseofhealthypeople.6 Buttrynottorestwhilelying
f latonyourback.Thatcanmake
thingsworsebecausegravitymay
causethecongestioninyournasal
passagestodripdownyourthroat,
makingitsoreandcausinga cough.
Coughingwhilelyingflatisn’tvery
comfortable,anditcankeepyou
awake.Instead,propyourselfup-
rightwithpillowsto“reducethe
coughreceptorirritationintheback
ofthethroat,”suggestsDrLausier.
Thiscanalsohelpmovethatmucus
alongandmake it easier for you to
breathe.7 Althoughyourbodyneedsrest,
DrLausiersaysanexcellentwayto
boostyourimmunesystemiswitha
bitoflightexercise.It’snota surprise
thatregularexercisehelpsyoufight
germs.Onestudyfoundthatover-
weightorobesepost-menopausal
womenwhoexercisedgotfewer
coldsthanthosewhodidn’t.A 2014
clinicalreviewshowedthatregular
moderate-intensityexercisemay
helppreventacold.Oneexplana-
tionmaybethatexercisehelpsflush
germs out of the lungs and airways.