How Does Air Quality Impact My Exercises

After we have been spending a long period of time in the pandemic season, exercises are the most missed thing through that period. Did you know you need more than 30 minutes of sweaty activity per day to be healthy and be much fitter that is not enough at all?

As we all know exercises are activities with high energy and higher oxygen levels, proper & cleaned air volume to curtain level is indeed is required. From Today’s article, we have decided to discuss How Does Air Quality Impact your exercises routine. So if you are interested in exercise, this is surely good for your health well-being, as same as to your knowledge. Read and enjoy.

Why we should Worry about Air Quality in the Exercises

Actually, it’s a valid question. Better air quality is a basic requirement for all of us even we do not engage in exercise. There are number of reasons for break down air quality outdoor by daily activities.

1. Construction activities
2. Motor vehicle traffic
3. Pollen from flowers
4. Industrial activities
5. Agricultural operations
6. Power plants

But the issue is, we cannot control most of them as an individual. Stay away from those health-hazardous locations is the best way to have proper air quality protection.

When you are dealing in normal life, exposure to a polluted atmosphere for a short period of time does not give big health impacts.

But the problem is while we are exercising, a higher amount of energy is required to keep your metabolism activities inside your body more than usual. Therefore, a higher capacity of oxygen level needs to be passed through the lungs.

In such case, if you are exposed to low-quality air contaminated atmosphere provide inhospitable toxic background more than usual day, it okay in a short period of time.

But while you are exercising in a short period of time, the influence might be worse than expected.

When we expose to Bad Air quality while Exercise?

When you have been exposed to a small level of bad air quality, while you are exercising it directly controls the oxygen supplement to your bloodstream through the lungs.

Apart from that toxic compounds like SO2, NO2, and CO, etc. can worsen the situation by creating toxic complexes inside your body. Which creates temporary health conditions like,

1. Headaches
2. Allergy conditions and asthma attacks
3. Nose/ throat/ Eye irritation

It can make worse the situation more than usual if you are a person doing exercise as a daily task. Most it can make worse is you are suffering from long term diseases like

1. Develop Heart Attacks/ Strokes
2. Lung cancers

If not so, it might be a kick start for such health-hazardous conditions.

What is AQI (Air Quality Index) level

AQI aka Air Quality Index is a method of reporting air quality in a certain location daily. EPA calculates the AQI level in a location daily or per few hours depend on population or importance parameters. AQI level measures mainly

1. Ground-level ozone
2. Particle pollution (also known as particulate matter)
3. Carbon monoxide
4. Sulfur dioxide
5. Nitrogen dioxide

Pollutant levels. Here EPA considers Ground-level ozone and airborne particles as the main human hazardous factors as two main air contaminants.

According to EPA, AQI level is measured as a numerical value in a certain region.

1. Good – (AQI 0-50) –

Air quality is considered satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk.

2. Moderate – (AQI 51-100) –

Air quality is acceptable; however, for some pollutants, there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people

3. Unhealthy to Sensitive Groups- ( AQI 101-150) –

Although the general public is not likely to be affected at this AQI range, people with lung disease, older adults, and children are at greater risk from exposure to ozone, whereas persons with heart and lung disease, older adults and children are at greater risk from the presence of particles in the air.

4. Unhealthy-(AQI 151-200)-

Not only Sensitive groups, everyone feels unhealthy air quality, Sensitive groups feel serious health effects

5. Very Unhealthy-(AQI 201-300)-

Serious health impacts for everyone

6. Hazardous-(AQI 300<)

Health warning emergency situation to the entire population

Reference – Michael C. Koester, MD., ATC- National Federation of State High School Associations – Sports Medicine Handbook –Fourth Edition

AQI is a helpful parameter in order to get a clue to have an understanding of air quality in a specific area before you have engaged in that location.

How can we manage the Air Quality In Exercises?

So we can see, bad quality can be everywhere, mostly indoor. If you have a daily exercise routine, a practical way to upgrade the air quality is to manage yourself or manage your lifestyle-related exercise timetable.

Otherwise, if you are an outdoor exercise person it is quite a hard thing to manage the surroundings. The indoor situation is much different.

1. Avoid the Busy Roadways

Roadways are quite busy with millions of air contaminants every day. If your outdoor workout routine has been laid near a such heavy traffic roadway, it’s practical knowledge that changes it to a lessor polluted calm location.

Mostly, the houses near busy roadways can be seen heavy air pollution and bad health conditions eventually.

While you are exercising like jogging, a larger capacity of air may go through your lungs more than an ordinary person. It’s a practical model of living longer period of time by that heavy traffic and how it gives bad health impacts.

2. Try Early Morning or Evening Workout

Early morning workouts are the best way to have a fresh start to the day. It can easily kill your morning sleepiness, and best way to start your engine in the best atmospheric condition.

When compare with all the periods after 6 AM and after 6 PM have the least air pollution records when compare with other time intervals.

Mostly midnights and afternoons are worst with all the daily activity and atmospheric conditions. So if you manage to set up your timetable early morning or evening, that might increase your healthiness same as your fitness ( Reference)

3. Always be prepared

Unless you have got a bad health condition, it’s okay to maintain a normal exercise routine in your daily lifestyle without having doctor-prescribed guidelines.

But if you are living in bad air quality regional area, if you are suffering bad health conditions like asthma, allergy conditions in pollen season, maintain proper medical guidelines with your exercise style.

Always, have an update on AQI in your area. If you are an athlete keep an extra inhaler in your pocket in any situation. Further in case, keep a written prescription note inside your pocket about your medical condition in an emergency. It might very helpful to others to take quick precautions in any emergency.

4. Schedule your Exercises indoor

If you can manage to do your exercise while you are in a gym or indoor center, it is the most recommended precaution. If the AQI level is higher than 100, go indoors is the best option. If the AQI level is more than 200 reschedule your exercises for a better location or into another day.

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