How to Work Out When Air Pollution is Bad

When we go for a run or a bike ride outside, it’s largely because we want to stay healthy and enjoy the outdoors. Unfortunately, if the air is filled with smoke from wildfires or pollution, it makes both those things harder to achieve.

越来越多的研究发现health costs associated with breathing in bad air can counteract the benefits of exercising。With large wildfires blowing smoke across many parts of the country, there’s been an increased awareness of the short-term costs of breathing in that smoke. It can trigger acute problems, like asthma, bronchitis or even heart attacks. But there’s also danger in the long run — and not just from smoke, but also from breathing in diesel exhaust or pollution. Breathing in air pollution for more than a few weeks can lead to strokes, chronic lung problems, lung cancer and evenearly death。

Obviously, any benefits from exercising in those conditions becomes moot. “At some point, the damage exceeds the benefit,” said George Thurston, a professor of environmental medicine at NYU who has studied the health effects of air quality.

Where exactly that point occurs is “a sliding scale,” he said, depending on your health and any existing conditions. It’s also true that “not all particles are the same”— some air pollution is worse for you than other kinds.

Sure, the air is smoky or hazy or dirty, but you’re thinking, ‘It can’t be that bad, right?’ Wrong.

瑟斯顿说，臭氧是一种刺激性，会更剧烈地影响您的肺部，而颗粒物对您的心脏产生了更大的影响。颗粒物物质（PM）小于10微米的宽度深处进入您的肺部，甚至进入您的血液。PM 2.5意味着宽度小于2.5微米。

起初，它只是触发您的肺或心脏的炎症反应，但随着时间的流逝，它可能会引起长期问题。由于联邦政府开始跟踪颗粒物的数量和调节空气质量，所以the mortality rate as a result of air pollution has decreased。

Even if the air doesn’t look bad, that doesn’t mean you aren’t breathing in bad particles. (And if looks bad, then you are almost definitely breathing stuff in.) And when you exercise, you’re breathing in large amounts of air.

但这是个好消息：除非您住在一个高度污染的城市，否则the benefits of exercising still outweigh not exercising。Just take the right precautions.

Here’s what you can do to make sure you stay healthy while trying to get healthy:

The first step to fixing any problem is recognizing you have a problem.

查看the EPA’s AirNow website查看您所在地区的空气污染水平。当您输入邮政编码时，该站点将告诉您最新测得的臭氧和颗粒（PM 2.5）级别。它还给出了空气质量指数（AQI）的一般数字。对于敏感的群体而言，任何超过100多个的东西都不健康，超过150个非常不健康。这些数字也都是颜色编码的。

“Red means stop,” said Thurston.

If that doesn’t go into enough granular detail for you, there are personal air-quality monitors you can purchase, and some of the companies selling them also provide their own publicdetailed air quality maps。

When the AQI or air pollution is high, it’s worth heading indoors for your workout. It’s also good to plan ahead — planning to hit the outdoor trails when the air will be at its best.

瑟斯顿说，夏天，空气污染水平是当天晚些时候的最高水平 - 因此您应该在早上进行锻炼。在冬季，污染在早晨最高，因为它在一夜之间建立 - 因此在当天晚些时候锻炼。

It’s also important to avoid busy traffic routes and rush hour times if possible. While smoke, sand and wind-blown particles are bad, “fossil fuel particles are much worse,” said Thurston. Even just running through a park or less busy road can be better. And tall buildings that trap the car exhaust are worse.One study伦敦的跟踪步行者 - 其中一些人被挑选在繁忙的，被贩运的道路上行走，其中一些人经常穿过海德公园。在大量贩运的道路上行走抵消了演习中的任何心脏或呼吸益处。

If you head outside, know a simple surgical mask is not going to keep out pollution particles. There are, however, higher-rated masks that filter out various amounts of pollutants. An N-95 mask filters out about 95% of particulate, or PM 2.5 matter, and an N-99 mask filters out 99%. However, neither filter oil-based pollutants. A P-95 mask can filter out oil-based pollutants and 95% of particulate matter. But all these higher-end masks make it much harder to breathe, which can make exercise exceptionally difficult. (These are commonly used by construction workers or others who work with high levels of dust.)

还有特殊的便携式HEPA（高效颗粒空气）过滤器，您可以携带腰部并可以通过连接的面膜呼吸。但是，这些可能会有些昂贵，而且很难锻炼。

If you go outside in less-than-ideal conditions, then there is also some evidence it helps to shower the particles off when you return home — rinse out your nose and gargle. This isn’t going to stop you from having breathed them in when you’re running, however.

如果污染的空气正通过开放的窗户和空气系统跟随您，那么呆在里面（并在内部锻炼）并没有很多好处。

如果您在房屋内购买过滤器，则需要HEPA级过滤器。确保更换空调或加热系统上的过滤器（取决于天气）。您还希望减少内部活动的数量，以增加室内空气污染，例如燃烧的蜡烛。

如果您决定前往健身房而不是外面，那也是如此：一方面，有人徒步旅行并打开门。另一方面，商业健身房可能具有更重的空气过滤系统。