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The thought that you have to wear a mouth mask while exercising may make you feel Spanish. Nevertheless, wearing a mouth mask during exercise turns out not to be bad for you. That’s according to a new study from the European Respiratory Journal, a monthly journal on respiratory medicine.
According to Italian scientists, there are hardly any health risks associated with wearing a mouth mask while exercising. They got twelve healthy people of about 40 years old to exercise with and without a mouth mask. Three different types of masks were tested. At the same time, the participants’ heart rate and respiration were measured. And what turned out? There was not that much difference. The results with the mouth mask deteriorated only 10% on average.
In a safe way, intensive sports with a mask on seems very feasible. “If you’re wearing a certified respirator that lets air through and you’re healthy, the only problem may be some performance degradation,” says Dr. Piergiuseppe Agostoni, professor of cardiology at the University of Milan. However, a non-certified homemade mask, which can obstruct breathing and cause contaminant retention, can cause problems and be “dangerous,” he adds.
More research
The sciences do urge you not to exercise with a mouth mask if you have health problems, such as a heart or lung disease. To do this, they must first do more research, if they want to be sure that it has no negative effect on these people.
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