Stress And The Immune System

Staying Healthy Starts on the Inside

Most people are familiar with basic guidelines for maintaining a healthy environment: wash your hands, wear a mask around sick individuals or while traveling, practice good hygiene, and avoid touching your face.

However, it’s also important to realize that staying healthy begins inside your body. The system we all need to protect in these difficult times is our immune system.

Here’s the irony: When we are stressed, our immune system gets weaker. Right now, many of us are stressed about illness and other worries. Just when we need a strong immune system, ongoing stress can weaken our defenses.

How Stress Affects the Immune System

Why does stress weaken the immune system? It makes sense if you think about how people lived for most of human history.

Not too long ago, if we saw a threat like a wild animal, we had to act fast. In that way, our body is ready to protect us. Our response was Fight or Flight.

Let’s look at the “fight or flight” response and how stress affects the body.

• Blood pressure goes up.
• Heart rate goes up.
• Serotonin levels drop because you need to stay awake.
• Your body doesn’t respond to insulin as well.
• Digestion slows down to preserve energy.
• Cholesterol goes up.
• The body pumps stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol into your bloodstream.

All these changes make sure you have enough energy in the right places, like your arms and legs, to respond to stress by fighting or running.  Think of it as establishing an energy cache.

That’s because your body wants to use all its energy to handle the immediate danger. This response is helpful if you need to escape a predator. After the threat is over, the body relaxes, recovers, and recharges.

But today, stress usually lasts a long time and doesn’t stop. And that’s where the problems start.

Adaptive Physiology

Our body’s way of handling stress is called “adaptive physiology.” To understand this, think of your nervous system as two parts:

• Your sympathetic nervous system controls the fight or flight response you need when there is danger.
• Your parasympathetic nervous system controls the “Relax and Recharge,” also called “Rest and Digest,” response you need between stressful times. Without this, your body would stay in overdrive.

Basically, these two systems work like the gas and brakes in a car. One speeds you up, the other slows you down.

Ideally, your body adapts based on the situation. The Relax and Recharge time is important to bring balance back to your mind and body. Nowadays, many of us feel like the “gas” is always on, which is a perfectly understandable response to the level of chaos in the world.

But constant stress can cause many health problems if the sympathetic nervous system never shuts off.

What happens to a car if you only press the gas and never use the brakes? It will likely crash.

Don’t Crash Your Immune System

Not surprisingly, your immune system weakens when you’re heading for a crash. Everything that happens during your fight-or-flight response can lower your immunity. That’s exactly what you don’t want.

6 Ways To Switch Your Body To A Parasympathetic State

So, what can you do? Isn’t stress unavoidable? A good place to start is to consider the two states of your immune system and aim to reach a state of rest and recovery.

1. Look at your mindset.

How you perceive a stressful situation affects how your body reacts. Maybe you feel trapped in your current life. That’s stressful. But think about the difference between feeling stuck and knowing the situation is temporary. Knowing the future can bring new chances to find other options. That simple change in thinking can help your nervous system stay in a healing state.

2. Seek connection.

When stressed, be near people who make you feel better. Feeling connected and accepted is important because it can help your immune system.

Luckily, we live in a time with many ways to connect beyond meeting in person. We can video chat, have virtual coffee dates, and regular meetings to stay in touch with people who make us feel connected.

3. Honor your body’s natural rhythm.

Many people are having trouble sleeping. But it’s important to aim for seven to eight hours of sleep each night. Even when your usual routine is changed, try to keep a regular sleep schedule. That means going to bed at the same time every night, even on weekends. Also, don’t forget that a good nap can help you feel better. Take a close look at your commitments and consider how you can eliminate unnecessary stress. Remember that the goal is to rest your nervous system.

What makes you feel refreshed and restored? Those are the activities to focus on.

5. Eat to optimize your immune system.

Many studies show that important nutrients play a key role in strengthening your immune system. The best diet and supplements for you depend on your own health, so it’s a personal journey. Important nutrients to focus on include selenium, zinc, and vitamins A, C, and D. Also, don’t forget your gut—a healthy balance of “good bacteria” is very important for supporting immunity. Increased evidence shows how closely a healthy gut is linked to a strong immune system.

In fact, up to 80 percent of your immune cells are found in your gut. The interaction between your gut microbiota and your immune system helps protect you against foreign pathogens.

6. Move your body.

Exercise can help your nervous system stay balanced. It can slow the release of stress hormones and increase the number of white blood cells that fight disease. Moving also helps your brain and body communicate better.

However, it’s important to move safely—any problems with your body’s alignment can affect this process. Focus on doing activities you enjoy and make exercise part of your daily routine. Consistency is key! If you don’t have a personal trainer, there are many workouts available online.

Prioritize Self-Care

Even in stressful times, you can optimize your immune system. Focus on your body’s need to restore and repair itself and prioritize your self-care. Taking steps towards staying healthy can help you gain a sense of control in an uncertain world. And that will ultimately strengthen your response to stress.