Prudent Exercise Helps Prevent COVID-19

Prudent Exercise Helps Prevent COVID-19 – How To Strengthen Your Lungs To Fight COVID-19.

According to AARP, good old fashioned exercise is one of the best ways to help prevent COVID-19 and, if you contract the virus, lessen the adverse effects. 

And, one of the best ways to exercise is to take a brisk outdoor walk.  Walking outside should not expose you to COVID-19 (especially if you wear a mask while walking), and is an excellent way to help your lungs and heart. 

And, of course, being outside will help your sense of well being. 

To get the full benefit of exercise, you need to walk fast enough to breathe fast and deep and get your heart rate up. 

As reported by AARP, the science shows that exercise helps increase lung function and slows the adverse effects of aging. 

From the AARP article…

Staying active is especially important for older Americans because lung function decreases as you age. Over time, the muscles that support your breathing become weaker, lung tissue loses elasticity and the air sacs inside your lungs become baggier. Studies show exercise can slow that decline and boost lung function.

Aerobic activity also helps air get into the deepest parts of your lungs that you don’t use when you are sedentary, says Bruce Levy, chief of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

“If there are any secretions or pollutants you’ve breathed in, aerobic activity helps you clear them out of your lung and decreases your risk of infection or pneumonia,” he says.

“Aerobic fitness also helps your body obtain oxygen from the environment and use it in the most efficient manner,” he says. “If you happen to get COVID, if you’ve been doing cardio, that’s going to help you.”

If you would like to read the entire article, please click here.