We are still in the middle of a pandemic. Health and the immune system is a hot topic and a lot of it focuses on diet. While diet is super important, it is not the be all and end all of health and it is often not the easiest place to start either.
So let's look at some simple “health hacks” which are not about diet and is mostly free and easy to implement. You can literally start applying it today to move the needle on your health and especially your immune system a little in the right direction.
Choose one or two things in each category to start doing. Print the blog post and highlight what you will start with. Do it consistently until it is habit. Then repeat the process with the next action steps that you can easily incorporate from each category. DON'T BE A PURIST!! Trying and doing it badly is better than not doing it at all.
1. Improve your light environment.
This is a very important aspect of healthy living. And I say that as someone who spent the better part of a decade endlessly studying healing diets, supplements of all kinds, and the literal detoxification cycles of the liver. It often comes back to light. Light “codes” your circadian rhythm through melanopsin receptors in your eyes and skin. Circadian rhythm is not just about sleep, although bad sleep will eventually harm you, whether it is through depression, heart disease, obesity, cancer or autoimmune disease. It is about what happens in every cell all through the day. Mess with that finely tuned system and a whole lot of chaos can ensue. We are not machines or meat computers. We are part of a long and old story that affects how our bodies function today. As mammals, our bodies have evolved around light cycles. How you feel physically, mentally and emotionally gets influenced by your light environment – which means the kind of light that are you getting and when. You can release every unprocessed energy, meditate for hours and eat only vegetables watered with morning dew in fairy gardens, but if you don't get the right light at the right time, you are spinning your proverbial wheels.
How do I improve my light environment?
Get your uncovered eyes (no contacts or glasses) in the sun, every morning, as close as possible to sunrise. Do it again around midday and close to sunset.
Minimize blue light exposure. Sunlight has a balance of different light frequencies. Artificial light has too much blue and green light that is not offset by red and yellow light and neither our brains, eyes or bodies are evolved to deal with it well.
- Avoid LED's and fluorescent lights.
- Avoid overhead light as much as possible and get halogen or incandescent bulbs for lamps.
- Use a blue light filter on all screens, at all times (not just after sunset).
Get sunlight during the day. There is some evidence that blue light exposure can be offset by red light during the day. So get in the sun.
Sleep in a dark room! Exposure to light at night disrupts your circadian rhythm. And even if you don't care, your waistline does.
This article has more info on the effects of light on mental well-being, as well as some more suggestions on how to “hack” your light environment.
If you really want to learn more about light, the brain and eyes, follow Andrew Huberman on Instagram. He is a brain and vision researcher with Stanford who can explain a thing to normal people and make it interesting and understandable.
2. Breathe
Yes, I know you are alive and you already breathe. But our breath quality is rubbish. We are a culture of mouth breathers. And it is making us stressed and sick. We are supposed to breathe through our noses – calmly and evenly, not like we just ran from a lion. When we breathe through our mouths, it not only affect our respiratory health, but can also impact our stress levels, inflammation, digestion and even the shapes of our faces. Breathing exercises used to be the terrain of people with asthma, anxiety and other health problems that clearly benefits from a deep breath. Nowadays it is becoming more well known that how we breathe can influence seemingly unrelated issues like weight loss.
I thought I was breathing properly. How am I supposed to make it better?
tape your mouth shut when you sleep. My first reaction to this was an emphatic no. I was very sure that claustrophobia would keep me from falling asleep at all. Finally, about a year after my husband started doing it and patiently offered me some tape every night, I relented. It was a process but it makes a massive difference in my sleep. I can't go back to sleeping with my gaping open mouth, drooling on my pillow again.
Keep your mouth shut while exercising and focus on breathing through your nose. This is not easy, especially not in the beginning.
Do breathing exercises. There is the Buteyko Method, Wim Hof breathing, box breathing or simple alternate nostril breathing. Start somewhere. Many of these breathing exercises increases carbon dioxide tolerance, which increases our ability to use the oxygen we breathe. All of them changes your body chemistry and have a downstream effect of better health outcomes.
Just the act of breathing properly can change your physiology significantly. There are very few exceptions, no matter how many years you have been only able to breathe through your mouth. The most inspiring source of information and research on breathing as well as resources for breathing exercises might be Breath by James Nestor. The man has more free videos and interviews online than you can possibly watch, so start there if you don't want to read the book, although I HIGHLY recommend spending the time to learn about the number one thing you do to stay alive.
3. Get sun on your skin.
By now you have heard everyone and their brother tout the value of vitamin D. You might even be on a supplement. You still need to get in the sun. We have evolved to use the vitamin D that our bodies produce. With our fear of the sun most of us have low vitamin D levels. Vitamin D is important for mental health (in so many ways, including influencing the absorption of vitamin B 12 through intrinsic factor), immune health and hormonal health. Low vitamin D levels have been linked to type 2 diabetes and obesity. Seriously, you need it. You don't have to roast yourself. 20 minutes of full body exposure during the part of the day when there is UV in sunlight will produce quite a bit, depending on your skin type. This is influenced by the season and where on the earth you are. D Minder is a simple app I sometimes use to keep track of it. If you are dark skinned, you need more sun to produce the same level of vitamin D as a person with lighter skin. This partly explains the higher incidence of cancer, autoimmune issues, obesity and mental health problems in minorities in higher latitudes (I am not, by any means, discounting the other factors of discrimination and social inequality here, although all of those also play into access to outside space and sunlight). Layers of clothes and months of dark means people with darker skin types need to work extra hard to have the optimal amount of vitamin D during sunny months.
Sufficient vitamin D production is not the only benefit of sunlight. This article from Georgetown University Medical Center explains how T cells (an important part of the immune system) are energized by sunlight. Then I just found out that your skin actually produces serotonin! Sun on your skin makes you happy. There is also some research that indicates that UV light triggers melanocytes (the cells that produce dark pigment in your skin) to release endorphins. It seems like sunshine can literally give you a high. Sunlight makes you feel better AND it strengthens your immune system, in more than one way.
How do I get enough sunlight and vitamin D without looking like a piece of leather?
Get early morning sun – as close to sunrise as possible - before there is any UV light present in the sunlight. This prepares your amazing body for the UV light you will be exposed to later.
Early morning sun or not, you still cannot just go lay out for hours and think you will be fine. Be sensible about it. If you are fair skinned, start with a few minutes at a time and work your way up. You might never be able to pull off 20 minutes without protection. Keep in mind that fair skin also produces vitamin D quicker, so you will not need as much sun exposure as your darker skinned friends.
In my anecdotal experience, what we eat influences how quickly we burn. More sugar in our family's diets always lead to a higher likelihood of sunburn. In my mind it would be because sugar is more likely to cause inflammation. In the same vein we saw a much higher tolerance for sun when we cut out commercial cooking oils. We only use coconut, olive, avocado and occasionally macadamia oils. Our diet tends to be more traditional foods inspired, so we also eat animal fats from pasture raised animals.
Make sure your diet is high in antioxidants. That means you should eat colorful vegetables and fruit. If you are not keen on “goat food”, start adding it in slowly or stick to one you enjoy. If blueberries are your thing, eat them. If you are a carrot person, do that. Are you a salad man? Munch away. Your skin will look better and your body will be healthier.
4. Move your body.
Don't fret, I am not telling you to train for a triathlon or join a Crossfit box. Little things can add up. This means that you do not have to have a work-out program to actually benefit from movement, but in our all-or-nothing culture we often feel that we would rather do nothing than just a small little non-Instagramable thing. And our bodies pay the price. We know the benefits of exercise – strengthens immune system, lowers inflammation, increases heart health, increases bone health, improves sleep, improves mood. The list is endless. Yet we don't exercise because we are not going to do it “right” or do “enough”, so why bother. If you are one of those people who are waiting to get together the courage, will-power or discipline to start an exercise program, don't. Decide that you just don't exercise, you only move. It is a simple rephrase but it helps. Soon enough you might find that you like it enough to do something crazy like running or weights. But even if you don't, you will feel better with some movement rather than none.
What does that even mean? How do I “just move”?
If you have a desk job, get up and walk around every hour, at least.
Play on the ground with your kids. Try to get up and down a few times without using your hands.
Walk your dog or, if you don't have a dog, go for a light stroll after dinner.
Walk for a few minutes while you see the sunrise.
Do stretches while you wait for the kettle to boil. Or do a static squat if you want to get wild.
Garden. You will find muscles you never even knew you had, even if you are an avid exerciser.
Climb stairs rather than take the elevator. It only adds a few minutes.
Carry your groceries to the car instead of pushing it in a cart.
Carry your child while you walk, rather than use a stroller.
Balance on logs, jump over them or hang off of branches.
Jump, if your body allows, of course. Jump forward or up. We don't often jump as adults and it shows.
Put dishes that you use often in the lowest cabinets so that you have to do at least one squat juts to set the table.
The idea is to mix up your movements. It is good for your body and also good for your brain and your sense of balance. If you do love to exercise, sweat and build muscle, make sure that you still work in some good functional movements, like getting off the floor easily, jumping, rolling, climbing, etc. Most adults, even fit and toned ones, need more functional movement.
For more on why you need to move (not just exercise), how to do it safely and how to add it into your life, check out Katy Bowman. She is a biomechanist with a few books on movement and health. Her blog is full of free articles and her podcast is fun and informative.
Movnat is a good resource for some functional movements and workouts for every level of fitness. I love the Movement Parallels Life channel on YouTube for workouts and ideas. It is worth trying some of these moves even if you are fit and ripped. Modern humans can all do with some more functional movements to help prevent injury and increase longevity.
Being healthy doesn’t have to be complicated. Simple, easy changes can set you on the right path. Fix your light, sun, breathing and movement and you will be surprised by the results.