Your Immune System Runs on Sleep, Food and Calm: How to Support It Through Cold and Flu Season

Cold and flu season has arrived, and with children bringing home every bug going round school, your own immune system is working overtime. You cannot charge it up like a phone battery, but you can give it everything it needs to work at its best. Searches for foods that support the immune system have jumped this autumn, and the habits that make the biggest difference cost little and fit around family life.

Protect your sleep first. Your body makes and releases its infection-fighting cells and proteins while you sleep, and people who regularly sleep less than six hours are far more likely to catch a cold when they meet the virus. Aim for seven to nine hours, keep the same bedtime through the week and leave your phone outside the bedroom. If the children wake you in the night, an earlier bedtime the following evening helps you catch up.

Fill your plate with colour. Different fruit and vegetables bring different vitamins and minerals your immune cells rely on. Peppers, kiwis, citrus fruit, broccoli and berries give you vitamin C. Carrots, sweet potato, squash and dark leafy greens give you vitamin A. Shellfish, meat, beans, nuts and seeds give you zinc. Eggs, fish, chicken, yoghurt and lentils give you the protein your body uses to build antibodies. Filling half your plate with vegetables at lunch and dinner is an easy rule to follow.

Feed your gut. A large share of your immune cells live in the lining of your gut, where the bacteria you feed help train them. Fibre from oats, beans, lentils, wholegrains, fruit and vegetables keeps those bacteria thriving, and fermented foods such as live yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut and kimchi add more helpful ones. Variety counts for more than any single superfood. Try aiming for 30 different plant foods a week, counting herbs, spices, nuts and seeds, and turn it into a game with the children.

Keep up your vitamin D. From October to March the sun in the UK is too weak for your skin to make the vitamin D your immune system needs, and the NHS advises everyone to consider a daily 10 microgram supplement through these months.

Move every day. A brisk 30-minute walk or a dance around the kitchen keeps your immune cells circulating around your body. Very long, exhausting workouts without enough rest can leave you more open to infection for a day or two, so keep most sessions moderate during cold season and save the hardest ones for when you feel strong.

Bring your stress down. Stress that drags on for weeks keeps the hormone cortisol high, and high cortisol dampens your immune response over time. Ten minutes of slow breathing, a walk in daylight, an evening with friends or an hour with a hobby you love all help bring it down. Saying no to one commitment this week counts too.

Go easy on alcohol. Alcohol disrupts deep sleep and hampers the cells that fight off viruses. Keep several alcohol-free evenings each week and swap the weeknight glass of wine for a warm drink you enjoy.

Wash your hands often. Washing with soap and water for 20 seconds, especially when you come home and before you eat, stops many viruses before they reach you. Teach the children the same habit and keep tissues within easy reach of the whole family.

Book your flu jab. If you qualify for a free flu vaccine, book it now, and if you do not, many pharmacies offer it for a small fee. It takes two weeks to build full protection, so earlier in the season is better.

None of these habits takes more than a few minutes a day. Together, they give your body its best chance of staying well all winter, so you can enjoy the season instead of spending it on the sofa.