Enhanced Immune Health With Moderate Exercise Sessions Of Less Than 60 Minutes

STUDY SHOWS during moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise bouts of less than 60 min duration, the antipathogen activity of tissue macrophages occurs in parallel with an enhanced recirculation of immunoglobulins, anti-inflammatory cytokines, neutrophils, NK cells, cytotoxic T cells, and immature B cells, all of which play critical roles in immune defense activity and metabolic health. Acute exercise bouts preferentially mobilize NK cells and CD8+ T lymphocytes that exhibit high cytotoxicity and tissue migrating potential. Stress hormones, which can suppress immune cell function, and proinflammatory cytokines, indicative of intense metabolic activity, do not reach high levels during short duration, moderate exercise bouts. Over time, these transient, exercise-induced increases in selective lymphocyte subsets enhance immunosurveillance and lower inflammation, and may be of particular clinical value for obese and diseased individuals.(1)