Sport is healthy, strengthens our immune system and thus reduces susceptibility to infections. However, following a particularly hard training session, our body needs some time to recover. Often one feels a great tiredness, an increased need for sleep and possibly notices sore muscles the next day. This condition is hard work for our body, because fine tears in the muscle tissue, destroyed cells and worn-out tissue particles that have arisen from training must be repaired and replaced.
However, our immune system is also responsible for fighting viruses and bacteria. Immediately following a strenuous training session, however, our body is busy regenerating the muscles and our body’s defenses are weakened. The window for pathogens is wide open, so to speak, and our organism is particularly susceptible to infections in this phase. This phenomenon is also described in technical terms as the “open window effect”. Basically, the more intense the sporting activity, the greater the burden on the immune system. It can take several hours or even several days for the immune system to return to normal.