Tips for Boosting Your Immune System

By September 21, 2020 Senior Living
Assortment of different vegetables on a white background

As we quickly move into the colder months of the year, along with the temperature change comes flu season. In the colder months, it’s much easier for your body to become ill. Luckily, there are many helpful tips and tricks for boosting your immune system to avoid getting sick. Here are some of the best ways to heighten your immune system this winter!

Diet

Your diet is one of the more important pieces to improving your immune response. To boost your immune system, you need a good mix of fruits and vegetables. Fruits and veggies contain a lot of necessary micronutrients that help to keep you from getting sick. If you’re not a fan of fruits or vegetables, you should look into multivitamins. They can get you the micronutrients you’d receive from eating the fruit and vegetables without actually having to eat them.
Another important aspect of the diet is to make sure your meat is fully cooked. Meat that isn’t completely cooked can make you sick and give you infections. When cooking meat, each different kind has a required internal temperature. If you’re unsure of the temperatures, follow this guide on internal cooking temperatures!
If you are living in an assisted living community, you’re sure to get all of the necessary components to your diet to keep you healthy. They will serve all your meals, and make sure they are balanced so you get all the macro and micronutrients needed to boost your immune response.

Sleep

It helps your immune system immensely to make sure you’re getting enough sleep every night. It’s important to establish a regular sleep schedule that includes at least 8 hours of sleep. Going to bed at the same time every night will help you to fall asleep at night. Another tip to help you sleep is to avoid screen time right before bed. The light emitted from electronic screens inhibits your brain from letting you get the best sleep possible. A good rule of thumb is to not use screens for a whole hour before bed.

Exercise

Getting consistent aerobic exercise can be a great boost for your immune system. Exercise gets your blood flowing around your body, and the immune response cells follow. Exercising four or five times a week for an hour or less can help improve your immune response significantly. For seniors, it may be a little more limited to what you can do for your workouts, but going on a quick walk is a great way to get your blood pumping. There are many other great options for working out as a senior if you want to get into other things!

Although there is no way to be completely immune to everything, this list has items that will greatly improve your immune system. At Foxtail Senior Living, we’ll always make sure you have everything you need to keep your immune response high. Between our offered meals, weekly activities, and comfy apartments you’re sure to stay in good health. Give us a call today with any questions you have about our senior living community and come take a tour!

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