Tips for Keeping Your Immune System in Tip-Top Shape This Fall

That cool tinge to the air can only mean one thing: fall has arrived. That’s right, it’s here once again and so are some of our favorite things like cute sweaters and scarves, pumpkin-flavored everything, and, of course, spooky season. But even though there’s a lot of love about fall, it means colder weather and less time spent outdoors. People tend to gather together more in warm, enclosed spaces during the colder months, increasing the risk of transmitting illnesses to each other. It’s important to take good care of your body during the fall and winter so you can avoid getting sick – especially considering all of the craziness with COVID-19 this year. Here’s a few tips to keep your immune system running well so you can fight off anything that tries to invade your body.

Diet

Everyone knows that a healthy diet is crucial for a healthy life but that doesn’t always mean that we make the best choices. Particularly with the colder weather, we might gravitate more towards heavy comfort foods than healthy meals. Eating the right foods, however, plays a huge factor in how good your body is at responding to threats to your wellness. Oranges, pomegranates, cranberries, and grapes are all chock-full of vitamin C to help your immune system function well and are in season in the fall. Autumn favorites pumpkins and sweet potatoes have a ton of vitamin A which is also linked to good immune health. Garlic, typically harvested in September, contains something called allicin which is also necessary for proper immune function. If you eat seasonal foods, you’re likely to get the nutrients that will help keep you well.

Exercise

This is another well-known fact – exercise is important for health and wellness. But all too often, we let our physical activity fall by the wayside in favor of a Netflix binge. When you live a busy life, it can be difficult to find time in the day to get moving, not to mention the motivation. Exercise, however, is proven to reduce levels of cortisol in the body, a hormone released when a person is stressed that lowers immunity. Additionally, strength training can help to increase levels of cells called T-killers that help defend our bodies against cold and flu viruses.

Sleep

Not getting enough sleep can wreak havoc on your life in far more than just one way but immune function is an important consideration for good sleep. When we sleep at night, our bodies heal from all the strain we put on them during our long and hectic days. Without that crucial time to refresh and return to working order, we won’t be able to fight off anything bacteria or virus that try to break us down. Additionally, a lack of sleep leads to elevated levels of that pesky stress hormone cortisol (of course we get stressed when we’re tired!) which prevents the immune system from functioning at its best.

Make Healthy Choices

We’re not saying stop yourself from having any fun at all, but the healthier your choices, the more likely you are to stay healthy this season. That means things like drinking less alcohol, quitting smoking, and committing to fewer activities that might lead to a stressful schedule. We often want to run ourselves ragged with a fun social schedule to balance out our heavy workloads. But sometimes, its best to take a weekend or an evening off to relax let the stress drain away. The better care you take of your body, the better it will take care of you.

All of this might seem too obvious to need to be said but everyone needs a friendly reminder of how to best care for themselves and stay healthy. Eat right, stay active, get plenty of sleep, and take care of your mind and stress levels and you just might make it through the cold months without getting sick.