{"id":14362,"date":"2021-01-28T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-28T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerstinhack.de\/?p=14362"},"modified":"2021-01-28T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-01-28T08:00:00","slug":"shorten-lockdown-reduce-stress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kerstinhack.de\/en\/lockdown-verkuerzen-stress-reduzieren\/","title":{"rendered":"Shorten the immune system: reduce stress"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unfortunately, this is causing me stress. It makes me angry and helpless that politicians and the press are almost exclusively reporting horror stories about infectious diseases and flu epidemics - especially coronavirus: Next wave, new mutation, deaths...

It's frustrating for me that almost nobody is bringing the good news: We can strengthen our immune system with simple means and thus reduce the likelihood of falling ill.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even the former health minister Mr Spahn, for example, took zinc and vitamin D during his own Covid 19 illness to strengthen his immune system.

Unfortunately, he didn't come up with the nice idea of having experts draw up recommendations for the population. I think that's a real shame, because even educated people tell me: \"I thought there was nothing I could do about the virus - except get vaccinated!\" <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Too bad\" is still too mild. People die every year who don't necessarily have to die already... that makes me almost desperate sometimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anger is really bad for the immune system. Two minutes of anger brings the immune system down for several hours - which is of course the last thing you need - a weakened immune system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any kind of unpleasant emotion (fear, pressure, shame, anger) weakens the immune system.\u00a0

So what can you do?
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reduce stress <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Short-term stress<\/strong> activates the immune system. The brain usually reacts to acute stress by causing the adrenal glands to release more of the stress hormone cortisol. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stress hormone initially alerts the non-specific immune defence, which also includes the natural killer cells. They form the body's first line of defence and render bacteria, viruses and fungi harmless. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chronic stress<\/strong> on the other hand, has a different effect: The cortisol level in the blood is permanently elevated. The stress hormone binds to receptors located on the surface of certain white blood cells. As a result, the cells release less interleukin-1-beta. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interleukin-1-beta stimulates the immune cells to multiply and also increases the activity of natural killer cells and promotes the formation of antibodies that specialise in certain pathogens. If the level of interleukin-1-beta falls, the effectiveness of the immune system also decreases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, chronic stress results in the production of fewer T lymphocytes, which are extremely important for the immune defence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just a few minutes of stress caused by excessive physical exertion, anger or frustration increase the inflammation levels in the body and can make the immune system more vulnerable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

People are on high alert and release the stress hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline. Vessels in the muscles are dilated to improve blood circulation. This causes the small vessels in the skin and kidneys to constrict in order to increase the volume of blood inside the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The body is ready with every fibre to remove the obstacle and fight the enemy. Everything that is not necessary for the fight is shut down accordingly: the specific immune system, digestion, potency and fertility and clear thinking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reduce or avoid stress<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The best stress is the stress you don't have. Even if there is \"good\" stress, challenges that spur us on, in most cases stress is a burden and negative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can be helpful to first get an overview of the stress by listing the various stress factors individually. During a particularly stressful phase of my life, more than 40 different individual aspects contributed to the overall feeling of being overwhelmed. No wonder I felt stressed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can deal with the different sources of stress in different ways<\/p>\n\n\n\n