For many people, keeping your body healthy and disease-free can feel like a full-time job. It isn’t always the easiest, and we all know how terrible it can be trying to run your life while sick. Even a small cold can become completely debilitating.

If your work requires manual labor, you will ache all day, and if your work requires a lot of thought processing and reasoning, your effectiveness is significantly diminished.

So what’s the answer? How can you become more proactive in preventing debilitating illnesses? Here are some great tips for a healthy immune system.

1. Consume alcohol only in moderation.

Yeah, we’ve all been there. Having drinks with your friends can be a great way to catch up. But some of us go a little overboard a little too frequently. When your body metabolizes alcohol, it is less effective at maintaining your other systems. As such, over consumption of alcohol can get in the way of your body’s natural defenses.

Have you ever gone out for drinks with friends and then become sick pretty soon after? It isn’t that the alcohol made you ill, it’s more likely that it simply made your immune system that much less effective. And whereas it’s a common joke refrain that alcohol kills germs, this usually isn’t the case in the sorts of alcohol (and the concentration therein) that humans normally consume.

2. Get all of the sleep your body craves.

One of the most effective means at your disposal for maximizing the strength of your immune system is to get adequate sleep. It’s no different for fitness, mental health, focus at work — pretty much anything that requires your body to be at its most optimal level. Sleep is how your body resets itself, renews your stores of energy, and heals problems and the like.

If you make sleep a priority, you will see a difference in your ability to fend off disease. This isn’t to say that it’s perfect or that sleep alone will ensure you never get sick again. Remember that it’s more a matter of probability than anything else. We’re working to improve your chances of positive outcomes, and you will have a much higher chance at success if you focus on positive sleep hygiene.

3. Find ways to relieve your stress.

Stress can really hurt your ability to fend off disease. Your immune system is interconnected with every other system in your body, and much like how the quality of your sleep will impact your immune system, so, too, will your stress levels.

Think about how you can integrate more mindful moments into your day. Great apps like headspace can really help you deal with the stresses that are present in your life. It might be helpful, as well, to find a counselor or therapist to talk to. Often times, these professionals are great at providing you positive means of changing your habits and behaviors to be more resilient against the effects of stress.

Also, every so often, you should evaluate the stressors which are present in your life. If you can cut something out which causes you a great deal of stress, you will be shocked at how much better your world can become.

4. Avoid cigarettes.

Similarly to alcohol, but much, much worse, cigarettes and tobacco in general will wreak havoc on your system. It might feel like you’re getting through things with smoking, but the reality is that cigarettes add to your stress and severely impact your immune system.

We know that quitting can be one of the toughest things you’ll ever face, but the benefits of quitting on your overall health, not to mention your immune system, are dramatic and life-long.

There are several resources which can help you quit smoking in a healthy and effective manner. The next time you’re at your doctor’s office, you should ask them and give it a shot! You have nothing to lose but poor health.

5. Exercise, exercise, exercise.

Exercising regularly is one of the keys to better immune health. It has an effect on all of your systems. Exercise will reduce stress, improve the quality of your sleep, help you to relax more, and will usually help you to maintain other healthy habits, like smoking and drinking less.

Furthermore, exercising your body provides a boost to your overall immune system. It improves your circulatory system, which your T cells rely on for transportation around the body. These are the cells which identify dangerous pathogens in your blood stream and they are a critical component to defeating disease before it becomes rooted in your body.

8. Consider an Immune Booster.

When boosting the immune system, there are few things that will do more for you than an Immune Booster will. By intravenously hydrating you and imparting the right vitamins, minerals, and a few other components, Immune Booster therapy can make a serious difference in your life. If you’re interested in learning more, just click here!

Keeping It Together

Life is already tough enough with all of the crazy things we have to do already in our day-to-day routines. Illness only makes it that much more difficult to accomplish your goals and get ahead. So make sure and take care of yourself. Boosting your immune system will ensure that you are as prepared as possible to eliminate disease before it incubates in your body and forces you out of your normal schedule.

Remember, small steps make all of the difference, and micro-habits are the basis for achieving bigger things. So start small, and before you know it, you’ll be feeling right as rain.