5 Ways To Improve Your Immune System
The human immune system is incredibly strong when it comes to fighting outside influences such as viruses and illnesses, but many people tend to have lifestyles that prevent the immune system from working at its best. In this day and age, stress is a very normal thing for everyone, and many people ignore a lot of important parts of their life, such as a good diet or getting enough sleep. Because of that, it is essential to find exactly what it is you are doing that could be detrimental to your health and try to improve it.
- Try to keep a healthy diet
A healthy diet is essential if you are looking to strengthen your immune system. Many people are unsure what exactly a healthy diet entails, so here are some ideas on what to include in your daily meals for a healthier lifestyle: doctors recommend plenty of fruits and vegetables, but also whole grains, protein, and so-called healthy fats, found in fish, nuts, and avocados.
An important thing to keep in mind while dieting is keeping it well-balanced, to acquire all the vitamins and micronutrients that your body needs. For that, Jennifer Sam, lifestyle blogger at Lastminutewriting and Writinity, says that “you should try as much as possible to give your body these resources through dietary sources, as opposed to supplements”.
You should also try to make sure you include these important vitamins in your diet: vitamin B6, which can be found in chicken, fish, bananas and green vegetables, vitamin C, found in most citrus fruits, as well as tomatoes and broccoli, and vitamin E, which you can get from most seeds, peanut butter, and spinach.
2. Do regular sports and exercise
As opposed to what many people believe, doing exercise is not just for building muscular mass. Regular exercise is an essential part of trying to keep a healthy immune system and keeping your body in good shape.
It is important to try to do even as little as 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise every day, as even that can help stimulate your immune system. Doing exercise is even more important than that, as it helps boost the overall circulation in your body, which can make it easier for infection-fighting cells in your body to travel easier and combat infections faster.
3. Try to stay as hydrated as possible
Even if you are not exercising or sweating, your body is still constantly losing water, and it is very important for the health of your immune system to try to replace the water you lose, by drinking liquids often.
Water has many essential roles for your body, but the most important role for your immune system comes with a fluid called lymph. Lymph is a fluid in the circulatory system which is responsible for carrying all the infection-fighting cells around the body. Not only that, but this fluid is mostly made up of water, which means that it is very important that you give it the necessary resources to function properly. Being dehydrated can slow down the movement of the lymph, which only deters the efficiency of the responses your immune system can give to infections.
4. Get the minimum sleep requirement
Sleeping properly and long enough is another very important step in making your immune system better. There are many processes happening inside your body while you are sleeping, for example a lot of essential infection-fighting cells are created during your sleep.
A lot of past studies have shown the importance of sleep over our health: people that don’t get enough quality sleep are more prone to catching illnesses caused by viruses, for example the common cold. In order to improve your immune system and its response to infections, it is important to have a good idea about how much sleep you should be getting every single night, as well as look for improvements In case your sleep is affected by external or internal causes.
5. Dial the stress down to a minimum
Stress, no matter if it is recent or built up over a longer period of time, affects your health greatly, and with that, it also has bad effects over your immune system. Ashley Moore, health writer at Draftbeyond and Researchpapersuk, states that “everybody experiences stress and deals with it in very different ways, but it is very important to be able to identify its causes because it can have detrimental effects on your body and health”. Chronic stress that lasts over long periods of time is especially bad, as it makes your body initiate a so-called stress response. This stress response suppresses the immune system, making you more prone to illnesses or infections.
It is important to try to destress yourself every once in a while, especially if you experience constant stress factors, such as work, personal issues or mental health issues. There are various ways to reduce stress, which include meditation, deep breathing or even exercising.
The seriousness of an illness is determined by how well your body responds to it. Because of that, it is essential to take these factors into consideration when trying to improve your lifestyle and strengthen your immune system.
William Floyd is a writer at Lucky Assignments and Gum Essays. He writes about self-development and helping other people to land their dream job and succeed in the marketplace. He loves reading leadership books and doing researches on how to grow personal brands, and has also taught hundreds of students how to build a steady growing business.
