I know you don’t ever want to catch the flu, fever, or get a cold ever again. It’s an annoyance that is never on our agenda. It puts a damper on everything that goes on in our daily lives. No one has time for all that! There are a ton of things that you can do to prevent yourself from catching bugs. I know for a fact that if you follow these 5 easy tips to help boost your immune system you will drastically reduce your chances of ever getting sick again.
Reduce Stress In Your Life
One of the biggest immune suppressors for everyone is stress. It causes almost 70% of all sicknesses. Acute stress causes hormones like adrenaline and cortisol to be released. Prolonged stress can weaken the immune system and leaves our bodies wide open for germs to take over.
The best way to reduce stress in our lives is to identify the stressors and completely eliminate them. An example of stressors are certain people, jobs, addictions, and bad habits. Some of these things may be difficult to change in our lives, but you have to remember that your health is at stake.
High stress doesn’t only cause immune system suppression. It can shorten your life. Stress can severely effect the heart. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. If you want to read more tips on reducing stress take a look at this article – How Can You Reduce Stress With 7 Easy Lifestyle Changes?
Get A Healthy Amount Of Sleep
The main time period that our body repairs itself and grows is during sleep. During sleep your body builds up and heals sore muscles. It also builds up the immune system. One of the best medicines when you get sick is getting sleep. On the other hand, one of the best to prevent sickness all together is to get the proper amount of sleep.
Have you ever heard that saying, “too much of a good thing can be a bad thing”? This is totally the case with sleeping. Just because there are so many benefits, that doesn’t mean that you should sleep all day. For most people 7-8 hours is the healthiest range. Studies show that the farther you wander from the 7-8 hour range, the more negative effects you will see. Getting 9-11 hours of sleep is just as unhealthy as getting 3-5 hours on a consistent basis.
Getting too much sleep can cause you to be tired, and it is also not good for your cardiac muscle (the heart). Sleep should be a top priority when you are concerned with immune system strength, and stress reduction. Here are some things that you can do to get adequate sleep:
- Take a warm shower or bath
- Drink a warm decaffeinated and non-alcoholic beverage
- Read a good book
- Stay away from bright television or computer screens
- Don’t play video games that will get your adrenaline flowing
- Set up a night time regiment that you do everyday
- Make your bedroom as dark as possible
Don’t Overtrain
With regards to exercise effecting the immune system I want you to know that It is beneficial. Studies show that at least 45 minutes of exercise at a rate of 3 days per week activates more immune cells. In one immune system study the study subjects only needed to use half as many sick days at work (because they were actually sick, not because they just didn’t feel like working).
If you have your own company, it may benefit you to pay for gym memberships for your employees. First of all, they will probably appreciate it very much. Second of all, it will probably save you money. Think about it like this. The average person takes about 12 sick days per year. A gym membership for a year is about $300. You will most likely make that money back, plus more when your employees cut their sick days in half.
Exercise becomes negative when you start overtraining. This means that you are training too much and your body is simply run down and exhausted. If you are training too hard and not getting enough rest, your body will start to produce too many stress hormones. A certain level of fatigue is good, but excessive amounts for prolonged periods of time reduces the activity of your immune system.
Improve Diet
Besides sleep, diet can have one of the most immediate and beneficial impacts on the immune system. The saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” has a lot of truth to it. Adding multiple fruits and vegetable to your daily diet provides vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Some other foods that promote immune function are:
- Cinnamon – ani-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral
- Ginger – multiple immune functions, and it can ease upset stomach.
- Garlic – prevents cold symptoms and speeds up recovery
- Kale – antioxidants and omega-3
- Salmon – omega-3
***Omega-3 is a fatty acid that acts as an anti-inflammatory and strengthens the immune system. You can get omega-3 supplements at a very affordable price in almost any retail store.
For more more information on the general guidelines for healthy eating habits take a look at this article – All You Need To Know About The Practical Diet.
Get Rid Of Bad Habits
One of the easiest ways to stay healthy is to stay away from things that are unhealthy. Bad habits like drinking alcohol, smoking, doing drugs, not controlling your temper, etc. all have unhealthy effects. All of these bad habits can hinder the way your body absorbs nutrients. They can also raise blood pressure to unhealthy levels. Smoke from cigarettes contains 4,000 potentially deadly chemicals that is not only harmful to yourself, but also the people around you. If you are fighting an addiction with one of these substances it may not be as easy, but staying away from them from the beginning would be the best option.
If you feel like you get sick way too often, then use these 5 easy tips to help boost your immune system. Share this link on your facebook and tag that one friend that you have that seems to always have a cold or flu. If you have any other questions about the immune system or how you can stay out of the doctors office, don’t hesitate to use our contact form so that I can help you out personally.
About Adam Pegg
