Boost Your Immune System Before Finals Week

By Asia Daggs
Blog Content Contributor

Last week, I was decaying from a mixture of a cold, fever and possibly death itself. Well, that is what it felt like anyway. I had been sick for a full week and my nasty cough lasted another full week. Being ill had held me from classes and other important obligations, so I realized that I need to start taking more precautions to prevent getting sick like that again. I started by self-diagnosing myself on the web and then searched for ways to boost my immune system. I went through tons of articles about this topic and pretty simple steps that are easy to follow. With finals just a few days away, you don’t want to get sick.

1.Eat a high diet of fruit and vegetables.

Vitamin C and E act as antioxidants to help our bodies fight off infection. So relish in some in oranges, apples, and don’t forget the infamous chicken soup!

2. Work out regularly.

Working out can flush out the bacteria or infection from your airways and lungs and also can speed up the circulation of your white blood cells to fight off the infection. So get in the gym!!

3. Stress less.

Too much stress can weaken our immune systems which makes us more vulnerable to chronic inflammation and other serious issues like high blood pressure. Try to worry less throughout your week, take it easy!

4. Sleep more!

When we are sleeping, proteins called cytokines are released that help with inflammation and infection so if you are not getting enough sleep you are missing out on those important proteins!

5. Laughter!

When you laugh, your diaphragm acts as a pump for your lymphatic circulation, which helps the vessels carry the fluid through your body and helps your lymph nodes clean and remove any waste, infection and/or dead cells. 

I would hope that you take this information and strive to take better care of yourself. It is important to maintain a good health in this age because after we are older it will be more a little more difficult to do so. Don’t skimp out on sleep, you deserve your beauty rest! Take time to meditate and destress and enjoy the world around you. Surround yourself around funny people, watch a couple of comedies and try to be more carefree. Keep yourself and your body healthy.

Featured image by Asia Daggs.