Kick the common cold with meditation

Meditation or exercise may lower the rate, length and severity of the flu or common cold, according to preliminary findings of a study conducted in Wisconsin, published in the Annals of Family Medicine this month.

The randomized controlled trial run from September 2009 to May 2010 suggests preventing the common cold may not just be limited to practices such as frequent handwashing or covering the mouth when sneezing or coughing.

“The bottom line is both the mental health and physical health matter in helping improve (the) flu and cold,” says physician Bruce Barrett, who is the author of the study and associate professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison medical school’s department of family medicine.

He said regular exercise and meditation may help.

A total of 149 individuals were split into three groups. Participants who meditated on a regular basis reported 257 days of the common cold or flu; those who exercised regularly reported 241 days of illness; and the control group had the highest number of days of cold and flu symptoms at 453.

Missed days due to the flu or common cold were lowest in the meditating group at 16, followed by the exercise group at 32. The control group missed 67 days.

The common cold is the leading cause of doctor visits and missed days of school and work, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

While many studies point to exercise to improve the body’s immunity and fight off infection, using meditation to improve immune function remains inconclusive, Barrett said.

David Shapiro, an expert on integrative medicine and Eastern therapies and an internist at Columbia St. Mary’s in Milwaukee, said the study showed that something certainly changed after one group engaged in a fairly intense meditation program, including having less severe symptoms and fewer days of illness.