Meditation or exercise may lower the rate, length and severity of the flu or common cold, according to preliminary findings of a study conducted in Wisconsin.

The randomized controlled trial suggests preventing the common cold may not just be limited to practices such as frequent hand washing or covering the mouth when sneezing or coughing.

“The bottom line is both the mental health and physical health matter in helping improve (the) flu and cold,” said physician Bruce Barrett, author of the study and associate professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison medical school’s department of family medicine.

He said in addition to taking precautions to prevent colds, regular exercise and meditation may help.

“If it turns out to be true, it’s a bigger deal than flu shots,” Barrett said.

The study was published this month in the Annals of Family Medicine.

Studying a total of 149 individuals split into three groups, participants meditating on a regular basis reported 257 days of the common cold or flu, people who exercised regularly reported 241 days of illness, and the control group had the highest number of days in which they had cold and flu symptoms, 453.

The groups were studied from September 2009 to May 2010 by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers.

Missed days due to the flu or common cold were the lowest in the meditating group at 16, followed by the exercise group at 32. Those in the control group missed 67 days.