{"id":1273,"date":"2022-09-11T19:47:04","date_gmt":"2022-09-12T02:47:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/ucan\/?p=1273"},"modified":"2022-09-11T19:47:04","modified_gmt":"2022-09-12T02:47:04","slug":"6-bug-busting-immune-boosting-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/ucan\/6-bug-busting-immune-boosting-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Bug-Busting Immune-Boosting Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u200b\u200b<\/span>Don\u2019t you hate being sick? As we start this new semester, we all want to feel 100% so that we can start our classes off on the right foot. Getting sick just puts a damper on everything, and I mean everything.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As the viruses amp up this winter, we need to put our battle gear on – power up the immune system.<\/span><\/p>\n

Picture your immune system as your best friend. It is constantly looking after you to try and keep you safe and healthy. Now we all know that friendship goes 2 ways. We must also look out for our immune system to make sure that it has everything it needs to do its job.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are many things that we can do to help our immune system stay strong. Here are 6 tips to a bug-busting immune system:<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip 1: Be nice. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

I love this quote by Marianne Williamson that said: \u201cEvery act of kindness on your part is a boost to your own immune system.\u201d Chemicals released during the act of helping someone else actually strengthens the immune system. <\/span><\/p>\n

Open the door for someone, offer a friend a ride, buy a classmate their favorite coffee drink on the way into class, make your friend who hasn’t been feeling well a meal. These little acts of kindness help those around you and might keep you from getting sick.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip 2: Get more sleep. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Our bodies need time to rest and recharge. If you\u2019re falling asleep in class your body is trying to tell\u00a0 you something. Sleep makes the immune system better equipped to fight off disease. <\/span><\/p>\n

Aiming to get between 7-9 hours of sleep each night is recommended for college students. This may seem daunting or hard, but it might just be a simple readjustment in your schedule.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip 3: Eat more fruits and veggies. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Fruits and vegetables have nutrients that can help boost your immune function. Some of these nutrients include beta-carotene and vitamin C. <\/span><\/p>\n

You can find beta-carotene in orange, yellow, and green fruits and vegetables such as carrots, lettuce, sweet potatoes, and cantaloupe. Vitamin C can be found in citrus fruits (oranges, lemon, grapefruit), bell peppers, strawberries, cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower), and even potatoes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When you are grocery shopping or going to the cafeteria on campus, try looking in the fruit and vegetable section and picking out one immune-boosting fruit or vegetable that sounds good to you.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Tip 4: Practice more joyful movement. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Physical exercise can help your immune system on so many levels from flushing out bacteria to giving your body more energy to do its job. <\/span><\/p>\n

Physical exercise should be fun and enjoyable. It could include going on a walk, playing tennis with a friend, going for a hike or bike ride, going to the gym, or taking a swim. <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s okay to switch up your daily movement based on how you are feeling that day. Try different forms of movement until you find something that you love.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip 5:\u00a0 Hydrate. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Did you know that a little over half of our bodies are made up of water? Making sure we are keeping ourselves hydrated is important to our immune system by allowing the fluid movement of our fighting immune cells around the body. <\/span><\/p>\n

The general amount that men should aim for is 13 cups of water and for women it is 9 cups of water. Try bringing a water bottle around campus to remind you to drink more water.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip 6: Minimize stress. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

It is important to take care of the stress in our life. When we are stressed, it is harder for our immune system to fight off disease. Self-care is crucial to feeling good. When there is stress in your life try finding out where that stress is coming from and some ways to decrease it. <\/span><\/p>\n

I like decreasing my stress by getting outside for a walk when my homework piles up, writing in my thoughts and feelings in a journal or making time for a nightly routine before bed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Just find 1-2 tips from the list above that you can incorporate into your life right now to build a strong immune system.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you need some help making a change in some of your habits, don\u2019t be afraid to meet with one of our health coaches! Your immune system will always be there for you and now is your turn to return the favor.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\n Ramsi Geiser, UCAN Health Coach<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u200b\u200bDon\u2019t you hate being sick? As we start this new semester, we all want to feel 100% so that we can start our classes off on the right foot. Getting sick just puts a damper on everything, and I mean everything.\u00a0 As the viruses amp up this winter, we need to put our battle gear […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":359,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/ucan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/ucan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/ucan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/ucan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/359"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/ucan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1273"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/ucan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1273\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1276,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/ucan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1273\/revisions\/1276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/ucan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/ucan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/ucan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}