5 Signs You Have A Weakened Immune System And What To Do About It

From preventing an infection in a scraped knee to fighting off the next virus that comes your way, your immune system is working hard 24/7 to protect you from anything and everything that could compromise your health. When it operates at peak performance, you don't even notice it's there. But if your immune system is under stress or overloaded, it can cause a world of problems for your overall health.

How do you know if your immune system is running at 100%?

Let’s take a look at the top 5 signs of a weakened immune system, plus what you can do to improve it.

1. Heightened Stress Levels

It’s no secret we live in a stressful world. From deadlines for work, tests in school, daily traffic, to the most recent fight you had with your significant other, stressors are all around us. Our stress response is designed to “turn off” unnecessary functions and prepare the body for fight or flight.

The body’s natural stress response - a release of the hormone cortisol - can reduce your immune system’s effectiveness. Cortisol naturally reduces the number of  white blood cells in your body. Less white blood cells mean you can't fight infections and tissue damage when it happens..

2. Frequent Colds Or Sudden Fevers

Colds, coughs, runny noses, and fevers happen. But with healthy adult they happen maybe twice a year as the seasons change. If you experience these indicators more than twice a year you may need to strengthen your immune system.

As viruses and bacteria enter your body a healthy immune system should be able to dispose of them quickly. Sometimes without you ever noticing a sniffle. But, when your body isn’t operating at peak performance these invaders overpower your natural defenses. This can cause colds, coughs, and other flu-like symptoms.

3. Lots Of Digestive Issues

70% of your immune system resides in your gut. That's because your gut interacts with the external world more than any other part of your body. From breathing in toxic air and viruses, to ingesting bacteria, fungi, or tainted food your GI tract is the first point of contact with foreign invaders.

So, if you constantly have stomach aches, gas or bloating, constipation, diarrhea, acid reflux, or any other common gut issues your immune system may be overwhelmed. This means it can’t send the necessary signals when a real threat is present. As with the colds, if you experience these symptoms more than twice a year you may have a weak immune system.

4. Your Wounds Are Slow To Heal

Your immune system plays a key role in wound healing. When you cut yourself your body goes into the four stages of repair mode. 1) Hemostasis (or blood clotting). 2) Appropriate inflammation (keeps the microbes and other infections out). 3) Cell regeneration (the actual healing process). And finally, 4) skin growing back over the wound. 

At any point in this process if your immune system is weak or overworked, it slows down your reaction to a new wound. This rapidly decreases the amount of time it takes for you to heal.

For the average person, a minor cut or scrape should take between 3 - 7 days to heal. 

5. You Feel Tired Or Sluggish All The Time

Sleep is a vital component of your immune system. When you shut your eyes for the night your body releases the cells it needs to assist your immune functions. If you get less than the recommended amount of sleep, your body doesn’t produce as much of the immune cells it needs. 

Studies show that our immune cell counts go way down if we are sleep deprived. Which means you become more susceptible to catching a virus. Also, with less immune cells floating around your immune system has to pull cells from other parts of the body when there is an infection or invader. This leaves you feeling more tired and sluggish.

How To Boost Your Immune System

If you have one or more of these signs, you may have a weak immune system. However, there are a few things you can do to help boost your immune system and its ability to respond to viruses, infections, and foreign objects.

Get More Sleep

A lack of sleep reduces the amount of immune cells floating around your body. Research shows that sleep increases the release of vital immune cells. This means sleep helps increase your body’s immune fighting power. The optimal amount of sleep for the average adult is 8 hours. 

Wash Your Hands

It may sound cliche, but washing your hands is a great way to control the amount of bacteria and other germs you come in contact with. The CDC recommends 5 steps to ensure you get a complete clean. Wet, Lather, Scrub, Rinse, and Dry. And we’re not talking just running water over your hands. It's recommended you scrub for at least 20 seconds. If you don’t know how long 20 seconds is, try humming “Happy Birthday” two times to yourself. 

Eat a Balanced Diet

Your immune system needs nutrition. And the best way to get it is with a healthy and balanced diet. Try to avoid sugars and highly processed foods which are low in vital nutrients. 

Add Supplements

Even with sleep, hand washing, and a balanced diet you may still not get enough of the vital immune support your body needs. That’s why a quality immune boosting supplement can help increase the effectiveness of your immune system. And there’s no better immune support on the market than Liposomal Immune+. Packed full of the essential nutrients your immune system needs to destroy foreign invaders.

If you have a weak immune system, you now have a few proven ways to boost the strength of your immune response. It won’t happen overnight, but with consistent use of these methods you’re well on your way to take back control of your well-being.