By Lily Miller
While looking after our health and mental well-being is always beneficial, it’s more important than ever during these demanding times. Stress, anxiety, an unhealthy diet, and a sedentary lifestyle can all suppress our immune system, leaving us weaker and more susceptible to diseases. However, taking proper care of ourselves while dealing with the spread of coronavirus can not only boost our immune system and help us fight infections, but it can also lead to a happier and more satisfying life. So, here are some ways you can practice self-care for optimal health:
Lowering stress and anxiety levels
As a society, we tend to experience stress every day of our hectic modern lives, and it seems like the past several months have only made it easier to feel stressed while watching the news, or even experience anxiety when thinking about our future, due to the novel COVID-19 pandemic. However, stress is not only detrimental to our neurological and cardiovascular health, but it can also weaken our immune system.
Once the level of the stress hormone cortisol rises, it can negatively impact our body’s ability to produce white blood cells, weakening our natural defense system, and leaving us more susceptible to viral infections. What’s more, the effects of stress tend to accumulate, often leading to more serious health problems over time. That is why it’s vital to avoid panicking during this demanding period and try practicing certain relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing, meditation, mindfulness, and positive thinking, in order to lower our stress levels.
Consuming a healthy and balanced diet
In order to work optimally, your immune system requires sufficient fuel in the form of sustenance. It is recommended to follow a healthy and balanced diet that incorporates plenty of colorful fruit and vegetables, to ensure your body is getting enough important vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin D and zinc, which can be found in leafy green vegetables, berries, as well as nuts and seeds.
As supporting the good bacteria that live in your body by promoting good gut health can also help you fight viruses and bad bacteria, it might also be a good idea to incorporate yogurts, fermented foods, ginger, garlic, and onion into your diet as well. It goes without saying that alcohol consumption, smoking and vaping should be avoided at all times, but especially during this stressful period, as they can negatively impact your health, leaving you more vulnerable to viruses.
Incorporating beneficial supplements
If you want to boost your immune system even further, a good idea would be to incorporate a potent combination of vitamins, minerals, and other valuable nutrients into your daily diet. For instance, you can turn to functional medicine, and opt for a bundle of beneficial supplements containing everything from zinc and vitamin C to essential amino acids, all of which will ensure optimal health.
In case you aren’t familiar with functional medicine, it’s a practice that focuses on restoring health and wellness by focusing on the needs of each individual. Basing a solution on your genetics, health, and lifestyle factors, functional medicine aims to find the best combination of treatments and supplements for your particular issues, helping you to maintain excellent, long-lasting health.
Opting for a moderate exercise routine
Apart from helping us stay fit, lowering blood pressure, and promoting good heart health, regular exercise can also offer us proper protection against illnesses. While improving the blood circulation in our body, it allows our immune system to do its job more quickly and efficiently.
So, if you want to stay healthy and strong, it might be a good idea to incorporate exercise into your daily routine. Whether you go on a jog around your neighborhood or even the garden, or you simply decide to do some cardio or HIIIT exercises at home, a moderate workout routine, combined with proper nutrition, is the key to staying fit and healthy.
Getting a good night’s sleep
Quality, uninterrupted sleep is essential for our overall health and well-being, as it’s a time when both our mind and body recover, restore, and reenergize. What’s more, if we don’t get the recommended 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night, our immunity might suffer, and we might be more susceptible to bacteria and viruses.
However, during these challenging times when we are forced to spend our days in the same environment, we have a tendency to be switched on all the time, which ultimately leads to light and poor sleep. That is why it might be a good idea to switch off all electronics at least one hour before going to bed, or even practice helpful relaxation techniques, in order to fall asleep more easily, and ensure a good night’s rest.
While self-isolation can take a toll on both our physical and mental health, taking proper care of ourselves with these essential practices will help us become stronger, happier, and more resilient, allowing us to power through these challenging times with ease.
