4 top ways to support your immune system

Your immune system isn’t immutable: there are certain things you can do to boost it, enhancing your overall health and increasing your protection against infections and diseases.

It should be noted that it can never be made fool-proof: especially at the moment, as Covid-19 rocks the world, there is no way to guarantee that you will be protected against illness.

However, we can still do a lot to improve our chances.

It may appear to some to be easier said than done, but actually a few relatively minor dietary and lifestyle choices may be all you need to improve your body’s defences. We’ve collected four of the most efficient things you can do today to help protect yourself.

1. Get adequate sleep

Getting enough sleep is one of the most important lifestyle changes you can make to ensure good health and a strong immune system. Lack of good quality sleep is intimately tied to a higher risk of disease and lower overall health and fitness across many biometric markers.

Those who sleep six or more hours per night are far less likely to catch common colds than those who sleep less, strengthening the case that adequate sleep may strengthen your body’s natural immunity.

It is a good idea to sleep more when sick to allow your immune system to better fight the illness.

Adults should be getting between 7-9 hours of sleep per night, whilst children will often need up to 14. Teenagers will be in the middle, requiring around 8-10 hours.

If you're working out at Gyms in Dubai, you definitely should be getting enough sleep to make sure you recover efficiently.

If you’re getting less sleep than ideal, you may need to rethink things: your immune system can only benefit from doing so.

There are a few things you can do to make sure you get this in. Of course, timetabling matters, so try to structure your bedtime to be about 8 hours before your alarm is due to go off.

Don’t watch TV, look at your phone, or go on your computer for an hour before you turn in, as the blue light emitted from their screens can interrupt your circadian rhythm.

Don’t drink caffeine in the late afternoon or evening, and make sure your bedroom is completely dark, to make sure that you can fall asleep properly.

2. Fill your diet with whole plant foods

Your diet also plays a key role in dictating the strength of your immune function.

Whole plant foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and legumes are rich in nutrients and antioxidants.

These should all help to protect against harmful pathogens.

In addition, these antioxidant rich foods help to decrease inflammation. They combat free radicals- unstable compounds- which can cause inflammation (an ultimately cause conditions like cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s to develop) when they are present in high levels in your body.

Fibre rich whole foods are also a boon to your immune system.

Plant fibre feeds your gut microbiome- the community of healthy bacteria in your gut- which will improve your immune function and help to keep harmful pathogens from entering your body via your digestive tract.

Foods such as legumes also contain a good amount of protein which helps with building muscle and recovery after working out at Gyms in Dubai. 

Finally, fruits and vegetables are rich sources of micronutrients such as vitamin C, which can help in staving off the common cold.

3. Exercise regularly

Moderate exercise is one of the best things you can do to boost your immune system, as is weight loss where it’s needed.

If you don’t know whether you’re at a healthy weight, it’s always a good idea to consult a BMI calculator- this will give you a rough gauge.

Though prolonged, regular, intense exercise can deplete you, leaving you feeling worn out and ultimately suppressing your immune system, regular moderate exercise is something of a must.

Even a single session of moderate exercise (a brisk walk, for example, swimming, or cycling) can heighten the efficacy of vaccines in people with compromised immune systems.

Moderate exercise can also decrease inflammation which, as we have seen above, has quite profound ramifications to your immune function and overall health.

Try to aim for at least 2-3 hours of moderate exercise per week. Though there are plenty of options for training, the best way may be to join your local gym.

There are plenty of gyms in Dubai, and plenty of gyms in Abu Dhabi, so this should be easy enough to do.

4. Keep yourself hydrated

This is a bit of a leap. Hydration doesn’t directly boost your immune function or protect you from germs and viruses. However, preventing dehydration is a base line for maintaining overall health that cannot be ignored.

Common symptoms of dehydration include headaches and depleted physical performance, focus, mood, digestion, and heart and kidney function.

These conditions all contribute directly to impeding your immune function and opening you up to illness.

You should aim to drink enough water throughout the day, in regular intervals, to ensure that your urine is consistently a pale, almost transparent yellow. Make sure you are well hydrated before you start your workout ay Gyms in Dubai.