Why do we get sick when we finally relax?

Why do we get sick at the end of the year? You know when you finally get to the holiday and you get sick. The short answer is not enough balance and pace. But if we had 10 scientists from different fields they'd all have different answers for us - it would be so interesting! What I can share with you is neural energy, stress and the opportunity to fit in periodisation into life and exercise.

So here we find ourselves in the land of psychoneuroimmunology. To step it out, psycho = mind, neuro = nervous system, immune = immune system. So this field researches and teaches us about the relationships among behavioural, neural and endocrine, and immune processes. One of the big names in this is Robert Ader. Some of the cool things that have been discovered since the 70s is that nerve fibres communicate with the lymphatic system = so the nervous system talks directly to the immune system. Also that there are neurotransmitters (communicators) on the surface of white blood cells (fighter cells).

The overview is that the brain talks to the immune system and vice versa, so this bidirectional conversation links emotional centres to our immunity.

So if we toggle back to how do we end up sick once we finally get to the end of year holidays? This is usually due to the excessive load of stress. Environmental, emotional, exercise, relationship - all of those versions of stress become the same in the body, which is unbalanced neural energy.

So the body is actually amazing at managing stress and using neural chemicals like cortisol and norepinephrine as immune protectors - unless you don't allow for breaks. So in the exercise space, this looks like overtraining. Assuming more is better. Or just the sheer load of EVERYTHING that has to happen before the end of the year. IF this feels like you my suggestion for the final week coming to holiday break is periodise in a "deload" week. This means 50% intensity and 50% volume of your chosen exercise and much more meditation, mindfulness, yoga and mobility like sessions. If you've not been exercising but your mind is telling you odd things like this is the time to start - just go for meditation, mindfulness, yoga and mobility like sessions.

There are some fascinating ways to periodise for females specific physiology and different again for males. So if this is the year for you to make some specific change watch out for online offerings in February 2022.

Rest well. Stay well.