Could Your Resolutions Make You Vulnerable to Mosquitoes?

Happy New Year!

2019 is upon us and with a brand new year, many of us will be making a start on the resolutions or goals we have set for ourselves to make it the best year yet by accomplishing our intentions. But can the resolutions you make, mean you are more vulnerable to mosquitoes?

7 Steps For Making a New Year’s Resolution and Keeping It

Are you keen to reinvent yourself? Or at least use the new year as a long overdue excuse to get rid of bad habits or pick up new ones? Yes, it’s that time of year again. The time of year when we feel as if we have to turn over a new leaf. The time when we misguidedly imagine that the arrival of a new year will magically provide the catalyst, motivation and persistence we need to reinvent ourselves.

One of the most popular resolutions (or goals as some people prefer to call them), is to get themselves into a fitter and healthier lifestyle. This will involve a good diet and exercising more. Planning out a new menu or scheduling time around your busy day for a trip to the gym, a cycle route or hitting the pavement for a run.

Exercising outdoors makes you feel good

It gets you at one with nature, however, as most people tend to do this early in the morning or evening, this is the time when these disease-spreading pests are most active, making you vulnerable to mosquitoes. And when you exercise, you produce more carbon dioxide… which mosquitoes love!

Why Mosquitoes Love Runners So Damn Much

The main reason runners get bitten in disproportionate numbers is because mosquitoes are attracted to carbon dioxide, which runners tend to produce more of than the average person, according to Day. “If you have a higher metabolic rate, you release more carbon dioxide than someone with a lower metabolic rate,” Day says. “Because runners artificially increase their metabolic rate during runs, they’re not only producing a lot more carbon dioxide than they normally would while resting—probably three to four times as much—but they’re also producing a lot of other attractants, such as lactic acid and an increased surface body temperature.”

Add repellent to your running routine

As you put on your running shoes, make sure you put on the mosquito repellent. Add it to your ‘running prep checklist’ so you don’t forget. After all, you are practising clean eating and exercise for a healthier lifestyle, so don’t let mosquitoes be the reason that your health could suffer after all that hard work.

Mosquitoes are also attracted to the lactic acid that you produce when you sweat. So when you’re working out and burning those calories, you’re also tantalising the taste buds of mosquitoes. Do yourselves a favor and not only stay safe exercising from any physical damage by not warming up or stretching but by not forgetting that all-important last stage before you head out the door… the repellent.