8 Ways to improve Immune system
#1 - Sleep - is the biggest influence you can have on your immune system. Getting over 6 hours of quality sleep significantly decreases your risk of getting sick. (1) This benefits of 7-9 hours of sleep are almost endless. Between hormone regulation, brain function, emotional health, and recovery from your workouts, there isn’t anything more important than sleep.
#2 - Nutrition - Sticking to whole foods with the majority being vegetables and grass fed meat is a close second to the biggest impact you can have on your immune system and overall health. The antioxidants, vitamins and minerals found in vegetables play a huge roll when it comes to reducing inflammation, increasing gut health, and the overall functions of every system we have in our bodies.
#3 - Exercise consistently - Did you know that the immune system is directly tied to repairing and building muscle? When we repeat the cycle of breakdown (exercise) and repair (recovery) of our muscles our bodies become more and more efficient at it. We adapt and become faster at healing and repairing, the system that gets more efficient is directly tied to our immune system. By working out consistently we are literally getting stronger bodies AND immune systems.
#4 - Reduce Stress - This can be the most difficult and most complex way to improve your immune system, but it has a huge impact. Every item on this list plays a role in stress reduction, so by doing everything else you will notice a huge impact on your stress levels. Mental, financial, and work related stress are “the big 3” that we can address on top of everything else we have mentioned so far. Some quick tips:
Mental - try to separate what is IN your control from what is OUT of your control. Focus your energy on what you can control and try to forget about things your can’t control.
Financial - come up with a plan. Put together a budget and above all else reduce spending. We have much more control over our financial success then you might think, but just like anything else it will require hard work.
Work - This is a tough one for many of us. The way I like to simplify things is to differentiate between being challenged and being stressed. A little fear of failure or coming up against a huge challenge at work is inevitable and healthy, but when it starts impacting your life outside of work (family life, no time for the gym or impacting your sleep) then you know you need to make some changes.
#5 - Maintain a Healthy Bodyweight - Since one of the rolls of the immune system is to maintain a healthy bodyweight, the healthier we are, the less strain it puts on our immune system. If our immune system is overworked trying to regulate our bodyweight, it cannot operate effectively when it needs to fight off disease.
#6 - No Sugar - This is a simple but effective way to help our immune systems. When we eat sugar it actually TAKES AWAY vitamins and minerals from our system in order to digest and process it. Not to mention the impact sugar has on weight gain and diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart disease which all can significantly weaken your immune system.
#7 - Hydrate - Dehydration can hinder your performance in and outside of the gym, and effect heart and kidney function, mood, digestion, which can increase your susceptibility to infections and illness.
#8 - Supplements - There are a few supplements that have had significant studies proving their efficacy. Vitamin D, Vitamin C, and Garlic have all been shown to decrease your chances of getting sick. (2) (3) If you do get sick, Zinc, Elderberry, and Vitamin C have been shown to decrease the duration of your sickness. (4)
Now more than ever it is important to find a program that supports your overall health and immune functions. Here is how our program is designed to help our members:
#1 - On day 2 we talk about sleep patterns and ways to reduce stress.
#2 - On day 1 we talk about the foundation of our program - nutrition.
#3 - Our business model is built around consistency. Ask yourself if your gyms business model is built on you paying and NOT going or going consistently.
#4 - We promote health in all aspects of life, and work with our members to find the best ways to reduce stress.
#5 - With nutrition coaching and varying between cardiovascular work, bodyweight, and weight training, we build the fittest, most functional bodies possible. It doesn’t matter where you are starting at, the results are for everyone and anyone.
#6 - Did you know that CrossFit is on the cutting edge of hydration research? They debunked the old hydration myths that lead to the deaths of high school and college athletes.
#7 - Our coaches will recommend supplements right for you that have peer reviewed studies to back up their efficacy. The ones that work tend to be the least expensive… don’t be fooled by expensive snake oil that saturates the supplement industry.
Schedule a “No Sweat Intro” to find out how we can help you boost your immune system and your overall health!
