Harvard Health LetterIn Brief: Tai chi gives immune system a boostIn BriefTai chi gives immune system a boostPublished: June, 2007Fighting off diseases is a young person's game. With age, our immune systems become less nimble and not quite as ruthless. The number of T cells drop. The B cells also start to wind down, making fewer antibodies that respond to outside intruders and more errant ones that turn on the body itself.
As a result, even those of us who age gracefully are more vulnerable to getting sick as we tack on the years. What's more, our immune systems don't respond as vigorously to the vaccinations — such as the annual flu shot — that we get to prevent some of those illnesses.
Small studies have yielded some evidence that exercise seems to re-energize the immune system, so when UCLA researchers decided to test whether tai chi might do the same, they weren't starting from scratch. On the other hand, the slow, controlled movements of tai chi aren't a typical form of exercise.
The study involved 112 healthy people whose average age was about 70. Half of the volunteers were randomly assigned to attend three, 40-minute tai chi sessions a week. They were taught tai chi chih, a Western variation of the martial art. The control group attended health education classes that included group discussion.
After four months both groups were given the chickenpox vaccine, Varivax. The shingles vaccine, Zostavax, wasn't available at the time.
The researchers drew blood from the study subjects and conducted tests that assess how active T cells are in response to the chickenpox virus. The tests were done periodically during the study, which lasted a total of 25 weeks.
The results were reported in the April 2007 issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. The T cell activity levels of the tai chi group had risen 38% by the end of the study, compared with a 28% increase for people in the control group, although the immunological boost from tai chi came mainly before vaccination. After the chickenpox shot, the T cell activity levels of the tai chi and the control group went up by about the same amount (14% vs. 15%).
The UCLA researchers noted that tai chi alone induced an immune response that was comparable to the vaccine.
Tai chi might have a strong effect on the immune system because it manages to bring exercise, relaxation, and meditation together in "one behavioral intervention," the researchers said. They theorized that tai chi enhances T cell activity by quieting the nervous system's "fight or flight" response, which can, in certain circumstances, interfere with the immune system.
As a result, even those of us who age gracefully are more vulnerable to getting sick as we tack on the years. What's more, our immune systems don't respond as vigorously to the vaccinations — such as the annual flu shot — that we get to prevent some of those illnesses.
Small studies have yielded some evidence that exercise seems to re-energize the immune system, so when UCLA researchers decided to test whether tai chi might do the same, they weren't starting from scratch. On the other hand, the slow, controlled movements of tai chi aren't a typical form of exercise.
The study involved 112 healthy people whose average age was about 70. Half of the volunteers were randomly assigned to attend three, 40-minute tai chi sessions a week. They were taught tai chi chih, a Western variation of the martial art. The control group attended health education classes that included group discussion.
After four months both groups were given the chickenpox vaccine, Varivax. The shingles vaccine, Zostavax, wasn't available at the time.
The researchers drew blood from the study subjects and conducted tests that assess how active T cells are in response to the chickenpox virus. The tests were done periodically during the study, which lasted a total of 25 weeks.
The results were reported in the April 2007 issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. The T cell activity levels of the tai chi group had risen 38% by the end of the study, compared with a 28% increase for people in the control group, although the immunological boost from tai chi came mainly before vaccination. After the chickenpox shot, the T cell activity levels of the tai chi and the control group went up by about the same amount (14% vs. 15%).
The UCLA researchers noted that tai chi alone induced an immune response that was comparable to the vaccine.
Tai chi might have a strong effect on the immune system because it manages to bring exercise, relaxation, and meditation together in "one behavioral intervention," the researchers said. They theorized that tai chi enhances T cell activity by quieting the nervous system's "fight or flight" response, which can, in certain circumstances, interfere with the immune system.