Boost Your Immune System & Stay Healthy This Winter
While it won’t officially be winter for another couple of weeks, colder weather is already here. With colder weather comes the likelihood of catching a cold or feeling under the weather. What are some ways to boost your immune system for the upcoming season? There are five simple ways to boost your immune system naturally, which will help fight the normal illnesses that hit us during winter. If you cross the path of allergens or catch a cold but have a stronger immune system, you will be able to fight off infections more easily. Here are five things you can do to boost your immune system and stay healthy this winter.
1) Do Physical Activity
The best thing we can advise is for you to exercise regularly. Among other health benefits, exercising regularly allows you to regulate your blood pressure and reduce your stress. This makes it easier for your circulatory system to respond quickly when an infectious disease enters the body. Exercising regularly also helps your body fight against heart disease. Even something as simple as a 10 minute walk outside has great mental and physical benefits!
2) Have a Healthy Diet
Having a healthy diet is essential to boosting your immune system. The nutrients we need are in more than protein-heavy and low-carb meals. We also need healthy fats, fruits (especially citrus fruits), vegetables, whole grains, and healthy carbs. A well-rounded diet is going to give you the vitamins you need to ensure your immune cells have the necessary tools to fight against infection. Experts say the best vitamins for boosting your immune system are Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and Zinc. Zinc is also proven to help ease the symptoms of a cold.
3) Get Lots of Sleep
Another way to boost your immune system is to get plenty of quality sleep. This gives your immune system time to recuperate and regenerate while your body is not awake. Ensuring you are getting the right amount of sleep for your body is a great way to improve your immune system. Some ways to improve your sleep are to leave your electronic devices out of your room at night, have a wind-down routine, and keep a regular sleep schedule.
4) Drink Lots of Water
Our bodies cannot survive without water. Water plays so many important roles in our body, especially when it comes to immune function. Hydration allows your body to properly circulate the infection-fighting immune cells. It is important to stay hydrated so your immune system can stay at its highest level.
5) Keep Stress Levels Low
Possibly the hardest thing to do is to reduce the amount of stress you are under. When your body is under continual amounts of stress, it goes into survival mode. This stress response suppresses your immune system, which makes it much harder to fight infection. In fact, high stress levels can actually CAUSE many long term and short term health issues. All of the things mentioned above can also help reduce stress levels, but it’s important you are mindfully reducing your stress as well with exercises like meditation, yoga, art, etc.
Bonus Tip: Keep The Air Inside Your Home Healthy, too
The air you breathe inside your home is vital to good health. Garrison and Garrison’s Indoor Air Quality Solutions remove 99.98% of airborne contaminants. We spend more than 90% of our time indoors, so making sure the air we breathe is purified just makes good sense.
Garrison and Garrison has served the heating and cooling needs of Madison County for more than 50 years. We are also your indoor air quality specialists. Want more information? Send us an email or chat with us on our website. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
