Is your lifestyle stressing your immune system? What lifestyle changes can you make to reduce immune system stress?
The book The Autoimmune Solution recommends five lifestyle changes to improve your body’s immune responses. These changes can reduce your risk of developing an autoimmune condition.
Keep reading for an overview of each change and why it’s important.
Avoid Unnecessary Stress on Your Immune System
Reducing your exposure to stressors like toxins or illnesses reduces the chances that acute inflammation will become chronic. Amy Myers argues this will help moderate your body’s immune responses and prevent or reverse autoimmunity. Below, we’ll explore five lifestyle changes she suggests to help you avoid immune system stress.
1) Work with your doctor to identify and treat hidden viral or bacterial infections. (Shortform note: If you suspect you have an infection that hasn’t fully healed because the symptoms keep coming back, ask for a referral to an infectious disease doctor. These specialists are like medical detectives who focus on infections that may require expert diagnosis and treatment, such as chronic infections.)
2) Get enough sleep: Aim for seven and a half to nine hours of sleep every night. (Shortform note: If this goal feels challenging, you’re not alone. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that adults sleep at least seven hours a day—but the percentage of adults sleeping significantly less than this is so high that the CDC has declared it a public health epidemic.)
3) Exercise, but don’t overexert yourself: If you’re already on the autoimmune spectrum, Myers believes exercise can be beneficial up to a point. Since your body needs energy to heal, she argues this isn’t the time to exercise too intensely or frequently. (Shortform note: In Exercised, Daniel Lieberman explains that even small amounts of exercise provide significant benefits. So, if you can’t follow the usual recommendation of 150 minutes of exercise per week, it’s still better to do a little exercise than none at all.)
4) Manage your stress: Deal with stressors immediately without dwelling on them, and incorporate stress-relieving activities into your routine. (Shortform note: Use the “5 A’s” method to manage your stress. Avoid unnecessary stressors, alter the situations you can influence, adapt to and accept what you can’t change, and be active to relieve stress.)
5) Avoid indoor toxins: Install HEPA air filters at home and work, and use water filters on all taps. Myers also recommends gradually replacing personal care products with toxin-free alternatives and eliminating any mold in your home.
(Shortform note: These recommendations might be a case of cruel optimism. In Stolen Focus, Johann Hari explains that cruel optimism accepts that the system can’t change, so it’s worthless to try. Myers’ guidelines could be considered “cruel” because they likely aren’t enough to overcome the challenge of avoiding toxins, given how ubiquitous these toxins are. Most people will struggle to totally protect themselves from toxins. Hari argues that cruel optimism is a distraction from systemic solutions that can help more people. In the case of toxins, systemic solutions might involve regulating relevant industries and conducting research to identify safe alternatives to common toxins.)
