Whether you’re worried about the coronavirus or not, boosting your immune system is always a good idea.  While we’re following medical professionals’ advice to practice social distancing and wash our hands frequently, here are a few other ways we’re adding to (or subtracting from) our daily routine in order to stay as healthy as humanly possible.

Reprioritizing sleep

Typically we’re up at 5:00am, in the gym and sweating by 6:00am. And while we try to go to bed by 9:00pm to allow for a solid eight hours of sleep, that isn’t always practical. (It’s so easy for a 9:00pm bedtime to become a 10:30pm bedtime.) So, we’re getting a couple extra hours of sleep with a 7:00am wake-up call. That may mean we have to skip the gym, but it is one of the best ways to bolster your immune system.

And to maximize every hour of sleep, we make sure that 30 minutes prior to bedtime, the phone is out of the bed, the TV is off, and the temperature is turned down. Check out our story on 10 ways to get better sleep at night.

Scaling down our workouts

Speaking of skipping the gym, yes, we are cutting back on our workouts these days (just a little).

While a regular fitness routine has been show to have positive effects on the immune system, it’s still a “stress” on the body and we’re trying to be extra conscious of keeping that stress in the healthy range. Occasionally some overtraining happens, but now is not the time to risk pushing a little too hard. That means, initially, double sessions were put on hold for the time being. Everything is at-home or outdoors, and we’re much more cognizant of intensity levels. Under normal circumstances, a slow start can be pushed through, these days we are easing back and performing more restorative sessions throughout the week. (Here’s a sample 2-dumbbell plan that does the trick — and another is in the works.)

Drinking more… bone broth and tea

Specifically, we get chicken bone broth from Brodo with turmeric and ginger. And as for the tea, we like all kinds but right now we’re stocked up on Throat Coat with echinacea and lemon.

Getting to know plant medicine

While we’re not keen on laboratory-produced performance-enhancing products, we can get down with herbalists and the stuff that truly comes from the earth. Over the last couple weeks we’ve been introduced to the Mab Tab, a herbal super tab that we drop in our tea. It’s a highly-potent custom blend of herbs. Ours is for better sleep and mental clarity, but according to the company, they’re also known for immune system support. What we like most about Mab Tab is that it’s become a part of the evening unwinding routine. We just drop them in our tea and kick back.

Thinking about produce before protein

Our diet is always full of lean proteins and tons of veggies but now more than ever, we’re thinking about the plant matter on our plates first. Vegetables of all kinds are filled with immune-boosting antioxidants. Right now, we’re loving Brussels sprouts, asparagus, sweet potatoes, beets, mushrooms, and peppers. (We have a freezer filled with frozen green beans and broccoli, too.) Check out the Diet That Works Forever for advice on how to cook with these ingredients. Here’s a grocery list to guide your shopping (if you dare go to Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s these days…).