Autumn time is a cold season. This seems to be an iron law, because year after year there is sniffling, coughing and fever throughout the country as the days grow colder and darker. But why is that? We explain why we catch a cold more often in autumn and what we can do to get through the autumn healthy.
Why do we catch colds in the fall?
Colds are also known as influenza infections. Unlike the real flu, which is caused by influenza viruses, colds are caused by a variety of different types of viruses. The most important representatives include rhinoviruses and adenoviruses. These viruses are responsible for influenza infections in humans, especially in autumn and winter. Coxsackie viruses and enteroviruses are often responsible for the "summer flu", as colds are called in the warm season.
The fact that we are particularly infected with the common cold virus in autumn and winter has nothing to do with the weather. A healthy immune system doesn't really care if it's warm or cold. We get sick more often in the fall and winter as our behavior changes. When it gets cold, wet, and uncomfortable outside, we spend much more time indoors. Here, turned-on heaters ensure extremely dry air, which dries out our mucous membranes in the nose and throat. Microscopic dryness cracks and wrinkles in the mucous membranes allow viruses to penetrate more easily and make us ill.
Since we spend most of our time in closed, poorly ventilated rooms with other people during the cold season, the virus load around us increases. The probability of getting sick increases. In order to be immune to colds in autumn, you can use our tips to prevent them.
5 tips on how to stay fit in autumn
Keep mucous membranes moist
It is important to avoid dry mucous membranes in autumn and winter as much as possible to give viruses no chance at all. Therefore, the following applies: drink enough water, even warm tea is better. When it is warm, our mucous membranes are supplied with more blood, which increases our ability to defend ourselves against pathogens. You can also use humidifiers to keep your mucous membranes pleasantly moist.
Balanced nutrition
Strictly follow hygiene rules
In autumn and winter, the following applies more than ever: keeping your distance, washing your hands regularly, and airing them out frequently create good conditions to keep viruses away. In the cold season, you should also be particularly careful not to keep touching your face with your hands. Also effective for preventing viruses from spreading: do not shake hands and – if you cannot avoid it – cough or sneeze into the crook of your arm.
Regularly ventilate
If the weather is grubby and cold outside, of course, we would like to retreat to our nicely warm apartments. Here you must not forget the regular ventilation, otherwise, aerosols collect in the air, which increases the virus load and makes infection with colds more likely. Regular ventilation therefore also applies to office space. Since many people sit together in a confined space, aerosols collect in the air particularly quickly. Air ventilation and cross ventilation are therefore mandatory in autumn!
Pay attention to healthy sleep
Sleep is extremely important for the constitution of our defenses. Most adults need about seven to eight hours of sleep a day. Only then can the immune system recover and build up the necessary defense in order to function stable and reliably even under the difficult conditions of autumn. Therefore, pay more attention to your sleep. Create a pleasant sleep atmosphere.
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