How to Strengthen Your Immune System as You Age
Seniors with robust immune systems are better able to fend off illness and disease. By promptly identifying and reacting to outside intruders like bacteria, viruses, and other microbes, it aids in the prevention of diseases. Home care assistance can play a role in improving a senior’s immune system. Reminding your senior to take their prescriptions, providing nutritious meals and helping to maintain a clean home are just some of the ways home care assistance can help. Here are 5 other natural ways for seniors to strengthen their immune systems.
Get Enough Sleep
It’s critical for elders to get enough restorative, high-quality sleep to strengthen their immune systems. Sleep helps the body repair and replace its cells, giving the immune system the energy it needs to combat bacteria and viruses. A weakened immune system that is more vulnerable to colds, the flu, and other infections is associated with poor sleep. Seniors should therefore make an effort to acquire 7-9 hours of good sleep each night. The idea that older people require less sleep is a fallacy that circulates online. That is untrue and will significantly impair their immune system going forward.
Reduce Tension
Through enhancing sleep, lowering inflammation, and lowering the risk of cortisol-related disorders, minimizing stress helps strengthen the immune system in seniors. As it aids in the removal of toxins, the repair of cells, and the promotion of healing, sleep is crucial for maintaining a strong immune system. Seniors can sleep better by reducing stress and anxiety, which will help their bodies recover from the day. By shifting attention away from the cause of stress and toward relaxed breathing and meditation postures, stress-reduction exercises like yoga or mindfulness can lower inflammation in the body.
Decrease Inflammation
A protective reaction to damage, infection, or discomfort is inflammation. White blood cells emit chemicals that set off a variety of intricate bodily reactions, which is what causes it. Symptoms include pain, heat, redness, and swelling. An elderly person’s immune system can be severely impacted by persistent inflammation. A senior’s immune system may be impacted by inflammatory processes because it will be less capable of responding to both fresh antigen exposures and pathogenic bacteria that are already present. As a result, there is a higher chance of infection, a longer healing time, and other issues.
Workout
Seniors’ immune systems can benefit from regular exercise by increasing the flow of white blood cells that fight infections, promoting the generation of antibodies, and enhancing general physical fitness. This can lower their risk of contracting significant health conditions by enabling them to fend off ordinary colds and minor infections. Home care assistance can help your senior stick to a regular exercise schedule as directed by their doctor.
Check your Vitamin Intake
A senior’s immune system may suffer significantly if they are too deficient in several vitamins. Blood tests performed in a doctor’s office are the only technique to accurately assess a vitamin level. A senior who is low in something may be able to make up for it through food or supplements, according to their doctor.
Seniors who consume a balanced diet, get enough sleep, exercise frequently, and wash their hands frequently can enhance their immune systems.
Reference
https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/ss/slideshow-immune-system
If you are considering home care assistance in Las Vegas, NV, for an aging loved one, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Summerlin. 702-800-4616.