As the leaves change and the days get shorter, fall and winter bring plenty to look forward to—from cozy holidays and family gatherings to exciting travel. However, this season of colder weather, indoor events, and increased close contact can also create a perfect storm for catching an illness.
The good news is that you don’t have to just cross your fingers and hope for the best. By implementing a few science-backed lifestyle adjustments, you can actively support your immune system, making you more resilient against seasonal bugs so you can fully enjoy all the fun the season has to offer.
| Member Tip: Spot sickness before it slows you down. Oura’s Symptom Radar feature can help you detect signs in your biometric data that something is straining your body, so you can proactively prioritize rest and recovery. |
Understanding Your Body’s Immune System
Think of your immune system as your body’s self-defense armor. When it detects a harmful invader, like a virus or bacteria, it ramps up its efforts to neutralize the threat. A strong immune system is like an impenetrable shield—it’s better able to fight off illness, sometimes even before you display any symptoms!
The strength of this defense system is heavily influenced by environmental and genetic factors, as well as lifestyle habits like what you eat and how you sleep. Incorporating simple, effective immune boosters into your daily routine gives your body the necessary tools to stay healthy year-round, especially as the busy holiday season approaches.
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9 Ways to Support Your Immune System
1. Get plenty of sleep.
Adults should sleep between seven to nine hours of sleep a night. Sleeping any less than this has a harmful effect on your immune system. Studies have shown that just a few nights of inadequate sleep suppress antibody production and immune cell response. During deep sleep, your immune system ramps up. Cytokines, the primary messengers of the immune system, are released to help regulate immune responses. This helps to fight off illness while you’re getting your shut-eye.
If you feel an illness coming on (or see it reflected in your Oura data), try to take a nap, or sleep longer at night to give your immune system an extra boost. Track your sleep with Oura to see how much sleep you’re getting each night, as well as the quality of your sleep.
LEARN MORE: How Sleep Affects Your Immune System
2. Add foods to your plate that support your immunity.
Incorporating fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, kefir, and yogurt delivers immune-boosting probiotics into your diet. Probiotics contribute to a healthy gut microbiome, which is closely linked to immune function. In fact, 70-80% of your immune cells exist in the gut. Your gut microbiota influences the development and activity of immune cells, and modulates your immune response.
Also, aim to eat plenty of colorful foods like beetroot, kale, carrots, and strawberries, which contain phytonutrients. These special compounds, including flavonoids, carotenoids, and polyphenols, play a crucial role in bolstering your immune system.
3. Cut back on common vices.
The usual suspects that have a negative impact on your overall health can also hinder your immunity—think: alcohol, smoking, excess sugar, and late nights.
Pro tip: Find a substitute your habits, so you don’t feel like you’re missing out—trade in alcohol for a non-alcoholic cocktail, or refined sugar for fresh fruit.
- Alcohol damages your gut lining, which can leak harmful microbes into your circulation, causing inflammation.
- Smoking decreases the activity of a type of white blood cell known as neutrophils. Neutrophils kill invading microbes, so are vital for immune function.
- Excess sugar produces pro-inflammatory cytokines, which are like alarm signals in your body that trigger an immune response and can elevate inflammation.
- Late nights can throw off the hormones of your circadian rhythm, which are closely linked to immune function. Late-night eating also hurts your sleep quality!
| Member Story: Gemma R. decided to go alcohol-free after seeing how her alcohol use was impacting her sleep, stress levels, and heart health in her Oura data. |
4. Spice up your meals.
When cooking, try to incorporate herbs and spices such as ginger, garlic, turmeric, cinnamon, thyme, and cayenne pepper. They not only add flavor, but they’re also natural immune boosters that have anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, and antiviral benefits. For example, curcumin, the active compound in turmeric, has been shown to have antimicrobial properties, cooperating with immune cells to bolster your body’s defense.
5. Do a quick HIIT workout.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) can stimulate the production of immune-boosting cells like natural killer cells and T-cells, enhancing your body’s ability to fight off infections. As the name suggests, this high-intensity form of exercise causes an increase in your heart rate and body temperature, increasing nutrient-rich blood and lymph flow, which helps to distribute immune cells throughout your body. Pro tip: Keep your workout short and sweet – 5 to 15 minutes maximum. This allows for a small inflammatory response without requiring extensive recovery which can temporarily suppress immune function. Track your workouts, and your workout heart rate, on Oura to make sure you do enough, without overdoing it.
6. Stay hydrated.
Staying adequately hydrated supports immunity by efficiently circulating lymph flow, which carries immune cells and antibodies around the body. It also preserves the integrity of your mucous membranes, which acts as a barrier against toxins. Finally, the more you drink, the more you urinate, which helps to support toxin elimination from the kidneys.
7. Manage your stress.
Brief periods of beneficial stress (like studying for a test or a short, intense workout) can increase immune function. However, when stress is chronic, it has the opposite effect. Chronic stress causes elevated cortisol and inflammation, which suppresses immune activity by inhibiting immune cell activity, like T lymphocytes.
| Member Tip: Stay on top of your stress levels with Oura using the Daytime Stress feature and by tracking your HRV. If you start to notice your stress levels consistently rising, focus on stress-relieving activities such as exercise and breathwork. |
LEARN MORE: 9 Simple (and Science-Backed!) Ways to Lower Stress
8. Hit the sauna.
Studies show that a single 15-minute sauna session stimulates the immune system: increasing white blood cells, including lymphocytes and neutrophils. It’s also a great way to boost your immune system when sick! Sauna use is a type of hormetic stressor – which means it briefly triggers your stress response, which modulates inflammation and boosts immunity. Aim to use the sauna two to three times a week.
| Member Story: Tag your sauna use in the Oura App using the Tags feature so that you can see how it impacts your sleep. |
LEARN MORE: Sauna & Sleep: A Winning Combo?
9. Consider immune-boosting supplements.
Supplements such as vitamin D3, vitamin C, and zinc can be smart additions to improve immune health.* In the winter months, due to the lack of sunlight, vitamin D levels can lower. Low vitamin D levels reduce immunity and increase your susceptibility to infection. Similarly, zinc supplements have been shown to shorten symptoms of illness by a few days.
Another surprising supplement that can boost your immune system is medicinal mushrooms. Look for a formula that contains cordyceps, chaga, and maitake. In addition to their many healing and adaptogenic properties, mushrooms contain beta-glucans which have immune-modulating effects.
*Always check with your doctor before adding a new supplement to your routine.
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