You have probably heard, “don’t go out in the cold, you’ll get sick.” However, modern medicine and germ theory says your colds are viruses; you can’t actually catch a cold.
While this is correct, why do people become more sick during the cold Winter months? Why were our mothers and grandmothers so adamant about us covering our face and neck and wearing socks when the temperatures dropped? Why are we more likely to get sick when we have been exposed to cold weather or cold, air-conditioned rooms?
Ancient cultures developed a close relationship to nature and their environment. It was through observation, trials and tribulations that they learned how nature affected their lives and wellbeing. Understanding how the outer climate affected their inner climate was critical to their survival. This knowledge was passed along through written and oral teachings. Across cultures the cold is often referred to as a pathogen, something that can enter and injure the body. In China they used this knowledge to delineate the pathomechansim of cold in the body and its effects, a foundation for Chinese Medicine.
Modern studies show that cold weather does in fact have an effect on our immune system. A study performed on small mammals show that cold temperatures suppress the immune response by down regulating the immune cascade, a series of events activated when the immune system is responding to infection or injury. Basically, the cold slows down the body’s defense response.
Another study performed on nasal tissue shows that cold temperatures reduce the release of extracellular vesicles, sacs released in the nose that target bacteria and viruses, by over 40 percent. This is significant because our nose acts as a first line of defense against pathogens.
The Journal of Applied Physiology published a study looking at immune changes in humans during cold exposure. They found that both anecdotal and experimental reports showed cold exposure increases an organism’s susceptibility to infection. Upper respiratory tract infections were the main cause of illness for cross-country skiers and military personnel stationed in the Canadian Arctic.
In modern day, the cold is not only due to the cold weather, we now have the power to adjust and modify our environment. So we don’t only need to be aware of being affected by the cold weather, but also by cold air conditioned rooms and planes.
While there is more research to be done on the effects of involuntary exposure to wind and cold on the human immune system, what used to be understood empirically, we can now corroborate through modern science. With this knowledge we can better understand why it is important to protect our bodies from being overly exposed to cold air and work proactively to support our immune systems.