7 Healthy Habits to Boost Your Immune System

Here are the seven lifelong habits to adopt for a killer immune system.

1- Long Sleep

Sleep is critical for your brain, your heart, and, yes, your immune system, so it’s imperative to get the sleep you need, which is generally seven to eight hours a night for the average adult.

Without adequate sleep, your NK cells decline, and you get a rise in what’s called inflammatory cytokines that contribute to numerous health issues like rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease, Dr. Schacther says.

Along with following good sleep hygiene habits, like keeping the room cool and dark and being consistent with your sleep and wake times, look to modify two factors that can negatively impact sleep: caffeine consumption and GERD, or reflux.

First, limit caffeine consumption by switching to decaffeinated versions of tea and coffee (which still have some caffeine), and sipping no more than one cup of decaf coffee or two cups of decaf tea no later than 2 p.m.

If you do have reflux, limit alcohol, spicy foods, sodas, and large meals, especially at night.

2- Eat Plant Diet

You really are what you eat—and if you nosh on a high number of plant-based foods, you’ll be fueling your body with the nutrients your immune system needs, including vitamin B12, calcium, iron, zinc, and iodine.

You can find an abundance of all these nutrients in whole-food, plant-focused eating plans like the Mediterranean and DASH diets, even a vegan diet, as long as it’s well planned, Dr. Schachter says.

But you don’t need to overhaul your diet completely (and go straight vegan), as long as you make sure you’re getting enough of the right nutrients for a strong immune system.

If you’re struggling to eat the vitamins and minerals you need, talk to your doctor and consider taking a daily multivitamin with vitamins C, D, and E, recommends Robert G. Lahita, MD, PhD, director of the Institute for Autoimmune and Rheumatic Disease at St. Joseph’s Health in Wayne, N.J., and author of Immunity Strong.