Whether you have your vaccination or have chosen not to take the precaution (or if you fall into the high-risk categories for those who cannot be vaccinated), taking care of your body during these peak illness months is essential. Not only will you be less likely to come down with a serious bug, but you and your family also will miss fewer days of work and school and feel more successful and productive overall.
Here are six tips for boosting your immune system naturally – not just during flu season but all year round:
Get your Zzz’s: When it comes to balancing busy work and school schedules, extracurricular activities, holiday plans and family obligations, one of the first things to suffer is sleep.
Sleep deprivation has been shown to increase the body’s levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which is released when the body enters a “fight-or-flight” state. Because your body is programmed to release this hormone in short bursts and to escape life-threatening situations (such as fleeing a large predator), this hormone increases your heart rate and suppresses non-vital functions in these situations, including your immune system.
Giving your body the rest it needs to repair itself and maintain optimal function is just as important as meeting the never-ending string of deadlines. In the end, if you become ill, you’ll fall farther behind than if you take the extra hour or two to give your body a chance to recuperate.