It’s amazing what a strong immunity can do for your body and general wellbeing. The immune system is responsible for keeping you free from illnesses. With so many lifestyle diseases, infections, and viral viruses like the coronavirus, it’s necessary to fortify your immunity so as to lower your chances of falling ill. Additionally, a strong immunity reduces your chance of developing growths that can cause cancer.
However, due to certain lifestyle choices, your immunity can be compromised thus exposing you to diseases. Here are some things that can weaken your immunity.
1.Stress
Have you ever noticed that you get sick easily when there’s something stressing you out? Stress can have adverse effects on your immunity since it reduces the production of prostaglandins – a hormone that supports the immune system. As a result, you become more vulnerable to diseases. Though stress is unavoidable, it can be managed in a healthy way. Find activities that help manage stress levels to avoid suffering from chronic stress.
2. Isolation
Most of us have been stuck indoors for the better of the year thanks to the coronavirus. Since we’re social by nature, being alone for prolonged periods can raise our stress levels thus weakening our immunity. Whether you’re working from home or are spending most of your time at home, ensure you have regular human interaction to avoid feelings of isolation. You can also get a pet to reduce loneliness if you live alone.
3. Dehydration
It might be drinkcember but make sure you also drink water. Water helps the body get rid of toxins thus making it easy for your immunity to fight off other foreign bodies. As such, dehydration can affect your immune system’s function. To ensure you drink the recommended amount of water, keep a 2-liter bottle within your sight. Additionally, you fortify your immunity by taking infused water.
4. High Sugar Diet
If you’re a sweet tooth, you need to make an effort to stay away from the sweets in as much as it might be hard to avoid eating sweet foods. However, it’s necessary to regulate your sugar intake in order to boost your immunity. Sugar competes with Vitamin C in the immune system thus compromising its ability to fight diseases. Therefore, the more sugar you eat, the weaker your immunity becomes.
5. Insufficient Sleep
You’ve probably heard it over and over again but sleeping is one of the best things you can do for a healthy lifestyle. Ensure you get at least 7 hours of sleep to allow your body to recharge and repair itself. While sleeping, the immune system revs up, boosting some of its defenses. At the same time, sleep helps improve immune memory making it easier to remember dangerous viruses and bacteria.
6. Insufficient Exercise
A sedentary lifestyle is detrimental to your physical health especially the immune system. However, for those who find it hard to stick to a workout routine every day, it’s easy to just sit back and remain inactive. You can still maintain an active lifestyle without going to the gym by incorporating exercise in your daily activities. Try to take the stairs and walk around the neighbourhood. Working out for 30 minutes every day is enough to counter the effects of a sedentary life.
7. Poor Hygiene
Your personal and environmental hygiene can affect your immunity. With the coronavirus, it’s essential to practice good hygiene to avoid contracting and spreading the disease. A dirty environment is more prone to germs thus it’s more likely to expose you to diseases. Additionally, poor personal hygiene can lead to certain illnesses that weaken your immunity.
8. UV Radiation Exposure
It’s not a coincidence that you fall sick when you’re on holiday at the beach. While the sun provides our body with some benefits, exposure to radiation such as UV rays can weaken immunity. This can be dangerous since the immune system fights off cancerous cells and if weakened due to radiation, it can increase the chances of developing cancer. Ensure you pack sunscreen when going to the beach and always apply sunscreen before leaving the house.