本文探讨了普通感冒与寒冷的关系，作者认为注意力在其中扮演着关键角色。通过个人经验和相关研究，作者提出了一种假设：体温调节和免疫系统可能竞争相同的资源，而注意力有助于解决这种冲突。文章进一步延伸到对疼痛的关注，强调关注身体感受对健康的重要性，并引用研究支持注意力对细胞因子的影响。总而言之，文章强调了关注身体感受对健康和免疫系统的潜在益处。

🥶 作者观察到，人们对寒冷的关注程度与感冒的发生之间存在关联。例如，在研究中，参与者专注于寒冷的感觉，而日常生活中，人们可能因为注意力分散而忽略体温变化，这可能影响身体的调节机制。

💡 作者推测，体温调节和免疫系统可能竞争某种资源，而注意力有助于协调两者之间的平衡。这种观点基于作者的个人经验，即关注体温变化可以减少生病的频率。虽然作者并非生物学专家，但这种推测源于对实际效果的关注。

🤕 文章进一步探讨了对疼痛的关注。作者认为，关注疼痛有助于身体的自我修复，并引用了冥想牙痛的例子。这种方法虽然不舒服，但可能在无法及时就医时提供帮助。作者强调，关注身体感受有助于维持健康，类似于动物的本能反应。

🔬 文章引用了一项同行评审的研究，该研究表明，身心训练可以影响细胞因子，从而将炎症反应向抗炎反应转移。这为关注身体感受对免疫系统的影响提供了科学依据。

Published on May 8, 2025 6:48 AM GMT

There is a common belief that Common Cold is caused by the cold, hence the name. There were several studies, like this, where subjects had to endure various chilling methods, that didn’t show a strong correlation.

My observation is that the key component here is the attention of the subject. When you are a subject of a study and intentionally dipping your feet into the cold water, the temperature sensations have your undivided attention. But when you accidentally stepped into a puddle and continued walking, busy with your thoughts, your body has to regulate temperature without your attention. Is there any difference? In my personal experience, huge.

I’m a complete amateur in biology, and my hypothesizing may be a mere speculation. But when something has such a practical impact, a rational mind has to look for any correlations to find practical ways to use it.

So, my naive hypothesis here is that thermal regulation and immune system are somehow compete for the same resource, perhaps related to humoral regulation, and attention somehow helps to resolve this conflict.

This subject may be extremely speculative due to the misconception of attention. People tend to see attention as a property of the mind, and if the mind can control material things, it gives them ideas of supernatural powers. But the phenomenon of attention can have much deeper roots in biology. It can also be a part of regulatory mechanisms, maybe somewhat related to the vagus nerve.

Well, not being a biologist, I was interested only in practical implications. And once I took a habit of paying attention to temperature sensations, especially in the moments of changes, I significantly reduced my getting sick.

The same goes for any kind of bodily sensations, especially pain. One can assume that fixation on the source of pain is natural for an animal at rest. People have learned to divert their attention, or worse, to use painkillers. Meditating on a tooth pain may be unpleasant, but it’s worth the effort if you can’t afford a visit to the dentist. Pain meditation can’t give you supernatural powers, but at least can make you almost as healthy as a regular animal.

There is a peer-reviewed study “Effects of Mind-Body Training on Cytokines and Their Interactions with Catecholamines“, which, how I understand it, shows that attention shifts balance from pro-inflammatory to anti-inflammatory cytokines.

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