Your immune system is one of the most important systems in your body. It helps protect you from cancer, infections, and other diseases.
Like your heart, the immune system is part of your body, continuously working to protect your body from foreign invaders.
As a result, you must help your immune system in any way you can so that it can fight off all of these dangers.
However, the immune system is something that most people take for granted. It’s there, it’s operational, and it’s doing its job. Well, not always. Many people are unknowingly sabotaging their immune system because of what they do or don’t do.
In this post, I will be sharing five most common mistakes that people make when it comes to their immune systems.
5 mistakes that sabotage your immune system
Not drinking plenty of water
If you would ask me what the most crucial nutrient on this planet is, I would say water. In fact, on other planets, we are looking for water rather than protein or vitamins. Drinking water on a daily basis is beneficial to your body’s overall function.
However, the truth is that most people do not drink the amount of water that their bodies require on a daily basis. As a result, they suffer from dehydration, which eventually harms their immune system.
According to Wanderlust stats, dehydration has resulted in the deaths of 760,000 children in developing countries. This is because people ignore that water is a crucial element for a healthy immune system and instead keep running behind other nutrients.
If you don’t drink enough water, your cells will become dehydrated, and they won’t function properly. The cells contain fluid that must be replaced, or they will shrivel up and die. This will compromise your immune system making you more vulnerable to infection and disease.
Not only that, but not drinking enough water can cause various problems, including fatigue, headaches, dull skin, weight gain, and dry mouth.
Not sleeping enough
The immune system is a complex system of organs, tissues, cells, and chemicals that work together to keep you healthy.
But When you don’t get enough good sleep, your immune system has to work harder and harder to keep up with everything it has to do. This causes your immune system to slow down and become weak. As a result, your body becomes more susceptible to infections and diseases.
According to studies, sleeping for less than 6-7 hours per day is linked to various health problems, including a weakened immune system.
Not sleeping enough has a variety of effects on the immune system, including:
- Lack of sleep lowers the number of White blood cells in the body.
- The production of cytokines gets decreases, which are an essential chemical messenger for suppressing infection.
- The production of sleep hormones known as melatonin gets drops, resulting in more stress over the body.
- Lack of sleep affects the function of immune cells.
- Your body produces more oxidative stress, which can lead to hypertension.
Taking too much stress
Stress is a problem that can occur at any age or stage of life. According to timesofindia, more than 80% of people in India are stressed. Stress isn’t just a problem in India; it’s a problem all over the world.
Stress is a major contributor to the onset of health issues. It has various effects on body, including a reduction in your immune system’s ability to fight infections and disease.
When you are stressed, your bodies produce a hormone called cortisol. These hormones influence the immune system because they prevent the production of inflammatory mediators.
Also, these hormones reduce the body’s production of white blood cells. Although, if you are stressed for a short period, these hormones have little to no effect on your body. But, if you are stressed for a long time, these hormones can have a negative impact on your immune system.
In fact, recent researches have shown that chronic stress(constant feeling of stress) can lead to a weakened immune system, a smaller brain, a lack of growth hormone, and an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, and even Alzheimer’s disease.
Not doing enough exercise
Most of us know how important it is to exercise, but a substantial number of people don’t exercise regularly. According to the World Health Organization, one out of every three women and one out of every four men do not get enough physical activity to stay healthy.
Research has shown that exercise improves your cardiovascular system, body composition, brain function, mood, and mental health. Not only that but exercise affects your immune system as well.
Here are some of the points why exercise is crucial for your immune system.
- A recent study has found that regular exercise helps the immune system fight respiratory infections like COVID-19. It helps to control pathogens by improving immune competence and increasing immune vigilance.
- Exercising promotes the production of cytokines, which control the growth and activity of other immune system cells and blood cells.
- Physical activity aids in the production of leukocytes, also known as “white blood cells.”
- Regular exercise increases blood circulation in the body, allowing other antibodies and white blood cells to circulate more quickly throughout the body. This improves the body’s ability to detect illnesses earlier than it previously could.
- Exercising slows down the production of stress hormones.
- Research shows that exercising also protects the immune system from aging.
Not eating the right foods
According to a global study, poor diets cause more deaths than smoking. Yes, you read that right. Every year, 11 million people die as a result of a poor diet.
A poor diet is a diet that contains a lot of sugar, processed food, junk food with little to no nutritional value. A poor diet is linked to a weakened immune system in the body.
According to research, a modern diet high in saturated fats, omega-6 fatty acids, salt, and refined sugar can harm the immune system.
A poor diet has the following effects on your immune system:
- A bad diet deficient in calories, protein, and essential nutrients severely reduces the immune system’s ability to respond.
- Diets that contain a lot of refined sugar reduce the while blood cells.
- A poor diet that is deficient in nutrients can harm immune cells and antibodies.
- Inappropriate nutrition in the body does not provide the immune cells with the necessary amount of energy. As a result, this increases the risk of infections and diseases.
Final words
If you make any of these five mistakes, your immune system can be compromised to the point where you are more susceptible to disease and illness.
But the good news is that these mistakes can be avoided by your little efforts on a daily basis.
I hope you learned a thing or two from this post and that you can now avoid these common mistakes if you want to keep your immunity system healthy and robust.
