3 things to boost your immune system

Of all of the the emergent trends in travel, recently, we’ve been thinking a lot about wellness travel, for obvious reasons. Wellness travel isn’t only about fitness classes, yoga and healthy eating. They usually also incorporate components of mindfulness. A daily practice of gratitude does a lot more for you than merely making you happier. Research has shown that practicing gratitude can help you sleep better, can help fight disease, and strengthens your immune system!

Right now, since people aren’t really traveling, you may have to push back that wellness vacation that you had on your calendar. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t boost your immune system at home by incorporating the practice of gratitude into your daily life at home. So, here are three terrific ways that you can start boosting your immune system today!

Look for Things that Inspire Gratitude.

There are lots of ways to incorporate this into your routine. In the evening, make it part of your bedtime ritual to think of one person in your life for whom you are grateful. Or, when you start your workday, as you’re commuting, putting on your work clothes or uniform, or while firing up your computer, take a few minutes to think about a part of your job that inspires gratitude. You can also help keep yourself on track by keeping reminders around you in your environment—pictures of loved ones, post-it notes with quotes that inspire you, or reminders to breathe deeply. Building that in your routine will surround you with gratitude, and that will, over time, make you healthier!

Meditate.

Earmark a few minutes each day to sit quietly and focus on your breathing. That can be a really terrific opportunity to spend some time moving your mind toward thinking about gratitude. There are lots of terrific apps — many of them free — that can help you with that. Just a few minutes a day is all it takes, and you’ll find that in addition to feeling less stress and anxiety, your health will improve in other ways, too.

Keep a Gratitude Journal or Gratitude Jar.

You don’t have to write a lot, but just jotting down a few notes in a gratitude journal each day can be a great way to reinforce positive things that are happening in your life. A quick note about something kind that someone did for you, or a funny thing that happened in your day can reinforce that positivity in your mind. Or rather than a journal, you could make a gratitude jar, with slips of paper of things that make you thankful or inspire you. Not only do you practice gratitude by writing the slips of paper, each day when you pull a slip out to read it, but you’re also reminded of the good things in your life.

Seems pretty simple, right? And the benefits to your health and your immune system are very, very real. (Don’t believe us? Ask a doctor!) Of course, if you’d like to take it a step further, and plan a wellness trip—either for yourself or (better yet) with a group—we’d love to talk to you about some incredible vacation ideas that can incorporate mindfulness and wellness into the itinerary, but which will also create memories to be grateful for for the rest of your life.