Tag Archive for: meditation

Exercise vs. Meditation? The Winner Is…

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As a trained exercise physiologist, if I were asked the question, “Which would prevent acute respiratory tract infections?” I would have picked exercise over meditation every time. The only reason I would choose meditation is that nagging voice in the back of my brain that says, “If they’re asking the question, maybe there were surprise results.” Science says to ask the question, so the researchers did; let’s take a look at the results.

When Meditation Tops Exercise

There were distinct differences between the exercise and stress-reduction groups versus the controls. When compared to the control group, the exercise group had fewer acute respiratory infections. The mindfulness-based stress reduction program also had fewer acute respiratory infections than did the controls, but when looking at other variables such as absenteeism and lost days of work, the stress-reduction program did slightly better than exercise.

When Exercise Beats Meditation

The researchers also examined the total number of infections, and the exercise group did better. In this study, which was completed well before the current pandemic, the exercise group had no coronavirus infections (the common cold) while the meditation and control groups both did; the difference was that the meditation-trained group handled the infections much better than did the controls.

It would have been great if they had one more group that both exercised and used the stress-reduction techniques. It would have been interesting to see if there were additive or even multiplicative benefits, or maybe there would have been no differences or even negative results. We can’t assume that it would have made the immune system function better; the “stress” of doing both might have compromised immune function.

The Bottom Line

Even though this study was done eight years ago, it’s the only study I could find that examined the benefits of exercise related to any type of upper respiratory infection. That the study also included stress reduction/meditative techniques was a bonus. What we know now, based on this study, is that moderate exercise as well as stress reduction will both reduce our risk of serious infection from many types of virus, and we may have milder symptoms if we do catch one. Whether this will serve us well during this pandemic is uncertain, but even a little protection to reduce the most severe symptoms would be worth the effort. That’s great news for people who don’t have the physical capacity to exercise and for those who don’t have the patience for meditation: either one will work. Just do something.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: Ann Fam Med 2012;10:337-346. doi:10.1370/afm.1376.

Immune System Training: Exercise vs. Meditation

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What’s going to work better to prevent acute respiratory infections: moderate exercise training or meditation training? Have you predicted which would be more effective without looking at the article? Or do you not have enough information yet? Let’s take a look at what each group did.

The moderate exercise group met for 2.5 hours each week with personnel trained in exercise physiology. The time was broken up into education about exercise and time practicing on different forms of equipment such as treadmills, exercise bikes, etc. The rest of the week, they exercised for 45 minutes per day. Most subjects used walking or jogging as their home modality of exercise. The subjects were trained to exercise at a moderate level based on the Borg perceived-exertion scale; once trained in assessing exertion, it matches up quite well with the effort people are actually performing during exercise.

The meditation group met with personnel trained in mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques for 2.5 hours a week. This program “is based on the idea that an increased awareness of physical, emotional, and cognitive manifestations of stress may lead to a healthier mind-body response to stress.” The subjects were also to practice the stress reduction techniques for 45 minutes every day at home.

The control group did not do either of the techniques. The training lasted for eight weeks. The variables I mentioned in Tuesday’s memo were collected before, during, and after completion of the eight weeks training. What were the results? I’ll give you a little more time to think about it and give you the answer on Saturday.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: Ann Fam Med 2012;10:337-346. doi:10.1370/afm.1376.

Boosting Immune Function: Exercise vs. Meditation

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Every once in a while, I come across some research that’s just so interesting and unique, I have to share it with you. In this case, it’s directly related to boosting the immune system, which is what a lot of people are trying to do right now. In this case, researchers tested whether an eight-week program of either moderate exercise or meditation would reduce the variables associated with an acute respiratory infection such as time lost from work.

Researchers recruited subjects who did not get a flu vaccination and also did not exercise or meditate; they used just about every survey related to health that was available. They also took samples from nasal rinses after subjects had acquired an acute respiratory infection of any type and tested for markers of immune function in the rinses.

The mean age of the subjects was 59 years old. The subjects were randomly assigned to one of three groups: the control group who agreed to do nothing during the eight weeks; a group who would exercise at a moderate level; and a group who would participate in a specific type of meditation.

On Thursday, I’ll talk about the training programs. Looking ahead, short of looking up the paper itself, what do you think will be more effective: exercise or meditation to boost the immune system?

Insider Conference Call

Tomorrow night is the August Insider conference call. I’m going to do a COVID-19 update focusing on the recent spate of doctors plugging hydroxychloroquine as well as answering Insider questions. If you become an Insider by 8 p.m. ET, you can participate live!

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: Ann Fam Med 2012;10:337-346. doi:10.1370/afm.1376.