Morning Exercise to Avoid Smog on High Pollution Days
Exercise: Good for your health. Pollution: harmful to your health. If you live in a smoky city, balancing these concerns will be difficult. In most cases, the benefits of exercise outweigh the harms of breathing polluted air , but on days with poor air quality, you can change your daily routine.
People with asthma or other lung problems are at greatest risk, but on days with particularly heavy pollution, even healthier people may want to stay at home. Harmful pollution includes particulate matter (the substance that makes smog darker) and ozone (great for the stratosphere, but not so good for your lungs). You can get air quality forecasts that let you know when each type of pollution is most serious.
Fortunately, you can reduce your risk and still jog or cycle on precarious days. An external log explains:
Let’s say you are running and have asthma, and tomorrow’s ozone forecast for your area is orange. To continue exercising while reducing your risk, you have several options:
- Go for a run in the morning when ozone levels are usually lower. (They rise during the day because sunlight worsens ozone pollution.)
- Do a shorter or less intense run or brisk walk to reduce the amount of air you breathe.
- If you can, jog on an indoor treadmill.
If your prediction is Code Red, says [EPA advisor Alison] Davis, “everyone should consider making these adjustments.”
Check out the full article on Outside to learn more about safe training in high-pollution areas and how to find air quality predictions for your area.
Should I be worried about air pollution when doing outdoor sports? | outside
Photo by Kevin Dooley .
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