ESSENTIAL IMMUNE BUILDING GUIDE
TOP 5 WAYS TO BOOST IMMUNITY
REPLENISH YOUR ADRENALS
Sleep
Do you have “cornonasomnia”, a word coined due to COVID-19’s stressors impacting sleep? According to the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, due to pandemic stressors in 2020, 40% of people worldwide are affected by insomnia. Chronic insomnia leads to adrenal fatigue.
According to Chinese medicine’s horary clock, sleep is mapped out by two-hour segments relating to how the blood and Qi move through the twelve main organs of the body. Our organs are closely tied to different emotions. Our body replenishes itself during these segments. Thus, if you aren’t sleeping during any one segment, you are not replenishing the energy for that organ, and you are most likely experiencing an emotional imbalance linked to that time segment.
For example, if you are sleeping later than 11pm, your body’s organs are not replenishing itself, i.e. cleaning the bile to break down fats (Gallbladder 11pm-1am), making new blood to relax the emotions and overall tension (1am-3am), or holding onto grief or the past (Lung 3am-5am).
Develop a good sleep hygiene routine by not caffeinating after 1pm, eating your last meal or alcohol at least 4 hours before bed, minimizing exposure to bright lights and blue light after dusk, winding down with a bath or stretching routine, and
BASK
In the Sun
Ok well maybe don’t bask in the sun, but how about 5-15 minutes a day? Vitamin D is a hormone produced in the body from exposure to the sun’s UVB rays; It is vital to energy, metabolism, cardiovascular function, brain function, hormonal balance, serotonin, and joint function.
Patients often come in and say they are fatigued or depressed and taking a vitamin D3 supplement. Many people don’t realize that if you have poor digestion or metabolism, then you are not absorbing the nutrients from your food or supplements. As it happens, all that money for vitamins is going to waste.
Getting your UVB rays from the sun is easy. Most people just need 5-15 minutes a day in direct sunlight (not filtered by glass). Protect your face with a hat. To track and manage your vitamin D levels, download the free app DMINDER. Remember, the darker your skin color, the longer you need to stay in the sun. The app shows you how to adjust for this.
Many studies show the link between vitamin D deficiency and risk for COVID-19 infection. The Royal College of Physicians published a study in July of 2020 called “Does vitamin D deficiency increase the severity of COVID-19?” All the more reason, to start soaking up your Vitamin D from the source.
When one is in fight-or-flight response due to a stressor, the body floods with hormones to “prepare” for the threat. Unfortunately, the cascade of physiological responses depress the immune system. If you cannot manage your stress, you deplete your body of any optimal function of your nervous, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, respiratory, endocrine, gastrointestinal and reproductive systems.
Everyone has stress, but long-term or chronic stress can have serious effects on the body. An effective way to alleviate stress is to start an aerobic exercise routine to balance out the neurotransmitters in the brain such as dopamine and serotonin. Tai Chi, Qi gong and yoga are low impact exercises that also have excellent results with reducing stress.
Stress can also affect your quality of sleep. If you find that stress and insomnia are two factors in your life difficult to overcome, try out our services at Lum Acupuncture to destress and get a good night’s sleep.