Strengthening the immune system - why happiness helps
Strengthen defenses - with luck
Researchers now know pretty well that anxiety, depression and chronic stress cause inflammatory processes in the body and weaken the immune system: For example, in people who suffer from loneliness, gene activity changes, so that more pro-inflammatory white blood cells circulate. But is the reverse also true: happy people are healthier?
It looks like that. American psychologist Sheldon Cohen has asked people to complete questionnaires about their state of mind and then expose them to common cold viruses. The result: Significantly fewer subjects were given a cold that considered themselves happy, satisfied and relaxed. "Happiness is a scientifically elusive term," says Manfred Schedlowski, Professor of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Immunology at the University Hospital Essen. "Basically, it's about how calm and calm we go through life, how we handle stress."
What we can do for ourselves
Each has its own way of reducing everyday stress. In addition to regular exercise and adequate sleep, relaxation methods such as yoga or meditation, as well as the cultivation of relationships, are proven to be helpful for inner peace and well-being. For social support through friends and family not only increases satisfaction, but also the immune system, studies show.
This is particularly true for people who maintain different relationships: for example, to relatives, girlfriends, godchildren, neighbors, colleagues, sports friends and Sandkastenlieben. And, of course, the quality of the relationship also plays a role in our well-being: few good friends are more important than a large but relaxed circle of acquaintances.
Strengthen the immune system - with sleep
"Sleep acts like an enhancer on the immune system," says Dr. Tanja Lange, sleep researcher at the University of Lübeck. Cells find their place of work more easily and are easier to share. The stress hormone cortisol, which slows the immune system, is now revolving only reduced in the body. During sleep, we also release the growth hormone, which is also needed for wound healing. The immune system works in shifts: while it deals with the fast defense against pathogens during the day, its memory becomes firm at night.
Together with her research group, Tanja Lange has found that vaccination is more successful - measured by the amount of specific antibodies produced in the body - if one sleeps well the night after the spell. Even one year later, the number of antibodies in this group was still twice as high as in the control group, which remained alert the night after vaccination.
In addition, good sleep helps you not to get sick. This was shown by researchers from Pittsburgh, who gave subjects a cold virus. Those three times more likely to have a cold that had slept on average less than seven hours a night in the two weeks prior. Even in older people, a connection between the sinking need for sleep and the weakening defense is suspected.
What we can do for ourselves
The sleeping requirement is individually different. As a rule of thumb, anyone who feels fit during the day sleeps enough. But too often we tend to ignore fatigue, keep working, watching TV, drinking coffee - instead of giving in more often. Important for vaccinations: Make sure you have enough sleep during the night.
Strengthen defenses - with sports
"Anyone who does sports regularly lowers their risk of infection by at least half," says dr. Karsten Krüger, sports physician at the University of Gießen. While in untrained women, every second colds in the winter months, not even every tenth in very fit women. Because the training activates killer cells and leukocytes: antibodies are formed faster. Regular exercise can also relieve stress (which also helps our resilience), slow down the aging of the body's defenses and reduce inflammation in the body.
What we can do for ourselves
Especially endurance sports such as jogging, swimming, cross-country skiing, but also strength training stimulate the immune system. Sport acts as a positive stressor on the body - too much effort, however, the defense is overly irritating. The right amount is 30-45 minutes of moderate intensity training two to three times a week. After a lot of physical stress, such as a marathon, you have to be especially wary of possible infection for up to two weeks, because the infection defense is now weakened once.
Important: Even with a slight cold you can train. However, sport should always be taboo if you are really sick, have a fever or feel knocked off altogether. And even those who have just recovered should, for safety's sake, suspend another day of training. "Otherwise, the cells have to fight on two fronts, which often worsens the infection," says sports physician Krüger. For strong defenses, it is also better not to train in the morning with an empty stomach: The remaining carbohydrate storage is otherwise needed for the effort - and the immune system lacks energy.
Strengthen defenses - with nutrition
Everything we eat sooner or later pushes through the gut, the body's largest immune organ. 70 percent of the immune cells gather here. No wonder the diet has an effect on our immune system. Above all, nutrients such as vitamins C, B, E and A, trace elements such as zinc and selenium and phytochemicals, which are found in all plant foods.
What we can do for ourselves
Not individual substances are decisive, says Professor Bernhard Watzl of the Federal Research Institute for Nutrition in Karlsruhe, but rather the amount of fruits and vegetables that we consume daily - namely, those five portions, which recommends the German Nutrition Society. It is also important to enjoy as many varieties as possible, including whole grains, legumes and nuts. Those who eat healthily do not need an extra dose of nutrients. Only those who are under high stress or have a feverish infection should pay special attention to vitamin C-containing foods (such as cabbage, peppers, citrus fruits).
Vitamin D, however, is often deficient: the frequency of respiratory infections is associated with vitamin D levels in the blood. Therefore it is recommended to eat a portion (150 g) of fatty fish at least once a week - for example salmon, herring, eel. The most important source of education is the UV radiation, so we should just in the winter at noon every day for half an hour out.
