Want to avoid those pesky common colds? Get a tattoo, or ten.
A new study from the American Journal Of Human Biology has revealed that the stress of getting a tattoo can actually strengthen your body's immune system.
That means you're better equipped to fight off infections.
Rekha Garton via Getty Images
The research showed that people getting their first tattoo showed decreased levels of the antibody immunoglobulin A and increased levels of cortisol - the a stress hormone that suppresses your body's immune response. But when people who already had a tattoo went under the needle, their levels of immunoglobulin A didn't drop as much, or as quickly.
What it means in layman's terms? Having a tattoo can make your body stronger.
"When you stress yourself, either via exercise or a tattoo, cortisol suppresses immune response,' said Christopher D Lynn, PhD, an associate professor at the University of Alabama.
"As with exercise, if you keep it up, your body adjusts its systems or builds up its defences in ways that accommodate the stress to the skin so that it can also deal with things like the common cold without getting all out of whack every time you get a new one."
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