Call Us: 423 661-4734 | Email: requests@comeandreason.com      
Five Steps to Reduce Stress, Improve Immunity, and Decrease Your Risk of Coronavirus Infection

Five Steps to Reduce Stress, Improve Immunity, and Decrease Your Risk of Coronavirus Infection

1. Stay socially connected while socially distancing: While social distancing, which means limiting physical contact with others, is important to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, staying socially connected improves immune function and decreases the risk of being infected.

Studies comparing gene expression in lonely people to socially connected people found 209 genes expressed differently. Specifically, in the lonely group, genes that are associated with inflammation were turned on, whereas genes that have antiviral roles were turned off.[1] [2]

Steps to stay socially connected while staying physically apart, would include:

  • Engaging in activities with members of the household, talking and encouraging each other, playing games, doing puzzles—but also actually connecting and showing interest in each other.
  • Talking with friends and family on the phone, via Skype, or FaceTime
  • Creating online groups of friends or family for discussion, sharing, Bible study, and encouragement

2. Get 8 hours of sleep each night: Multiple studies have demonstrated that sleep is essential for healthy immune response. Those who sleep less than 8 hours each night have immune systems that are less responsive to infection, while those who sleep 8 hours each night make antibodies more effectively and are able to fight infections more readily. This is one factor why vaccines are not as effective in every person. Persons with chronic sleep deprivation do not get the same antibody production and subsequent protection from vaccines when compared to subjects who sleep 8 hours each night.[3] [4]

Steps to improve sleep include:

  • Decrease or eliminate stimulants, such as caffeine
  • Do not use alcohol as a sleep aid
  • >Use the night setting on electronic devices to decrease blue light
  • Don’t eat a heavy meal before bedtime
  • >Ensure a comfortable bed and cool sleeping environment
  • Ensure your room is dark
  • Keep animals out of the room and bed
  • Consider a sound machine or fan to create “white noise”
  • Establish a routine and schedule for going to bed and getting up—and stick to it
  • If sleep problems persist, see your doctor
  • Do not take sleep medications unless directed to do so by your doctor

3. Regular moderate aerobic exercise: Studies show that regular moderate to vigorous exercise of no more than 60 minutes enhances multiple immune functions. However, extreme exercise, such as running a marathon causes immune dysfunction. Regular moderate aerobic exercise improves macrophage activity, circulation of immunoglobulins, anti-inflammatory cytokines, neutrophils, and various lymphocytes. These changes improve the body’s immunosurveillance. Moderate “exercise is now viewed as an important immune system adjuvant to stimulate the ongoing exchange of leukocytes between the circulation and tissues” and improves the body’s immune response to vaccination. [5]

Steps to healthy exercise:

  • See your doctor to get a physical exam and start exercise under your doctor’s supervision
  • Begin low and go slow, gradually increasing duration and intensity
  • Choose an exercise you enjoy
  • Exercise outdoors when possible
  • Examples of aerobic exercise include: walking, running, biking, rowing, swimming.
  • The easiest to engage and maintain over time is regular walking—aim for 30–60 minutes a day, 5 days a week

4. Healthy Nutrition: The goal of healthy nutrition would be to move your diet away from foods that increase inflammation and impair immune response toward foods that decrease inflammation and improve immune response. Plant-based diets have been shown to do just that. A meta-analysis of 29 studies found that plant-based diets decreased a host of inflammatory factors and, thereby, decreased disease risk.[6]

Steps to healthy nutrition include:

  • Eat fruits, nuts, vegetables—the more colors the better as the colors are high in anti-inflammatory factors: berries, carrots, yams, spinach, etc.
  • Get your vitamin D level checked by your doctor and take vitamin D supplements to achieve a level of 75–100 nmol/L. Levels below 25 increase all causes of death, and levels above 140 increase all causes of death.[7] Studies show that normal vitamin D levels improve immune response and may reduce risk of infections, particularly viral infections like influenza and corona.[8] [9]
  • Avoid or minimize junk food as such foods are highly inflammatory

5. Laugh: In 2019, I wrote a blog on the benefits of laughter and will recap some of those benefits here.

Mirthful laughter reduces inflammation, improves diabetes control, and reduces incidence of heart attacks.[10] Other researchers found beneficial effects of laughter on the blood vessel. Nitric oxide is a chemical that the body uses to dilate blood vessels; mental stress was shown to degrade nitric oxide. This means that laughter minimizes the negative effects of stress by reducing the breakdown of nitric oxide, leading to vasodilatation and better blood flow.[11] On average, laughter increased blood flow by 22 percent and stress decreased blood flow by 35 percent. [12]

Laughter has been shown to improve the response of the immune system, which is especially important at this time.[13] In a study performed by Berk LS, et al., they found increased blood levels of interferon-gamma (an immune product that fights infections and cancers) in ten healthy fasting males after being shown a comedy video (p=0.02).[14] As a result, interferons have become a line of pharmacotherapy in viral infections, systemic carcinomas, hepatitis B and C, in addition to the development of antiretroviral drugs.

There are two types of stress: distress (the negative type) and eustress (the positive type, which would include mirthful laughter). Distress increases stress hormones—such as beta-endorphins, corticotrophins, and catecholamines—but laughter (a form eustress) decreases these hormones, fortifies activity of natural killer (NK) cells, activates T cells and B cells, and increases Ig levels. This means that laughter is capable of combating the negative aspects of distress and fortifying the immune system to help fight against various immune mediated illnesses.[15]

Steps to laugh:

  • Check out our Reasonette comics
  • Watch non-vulgar comedy programs or stand-up comics
  • Play interactive games like Pictionary or Balderdash
  • Tell jokes to friends or family
  • Choose to see the humor in life
 


[1] Genome Biology 2007, 8:R189

[2] PNAS vol. 108 no. 7; Cole, 3080–3085, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1014218108

[3] Michael R. Irwin, Sleep and Infectious Disease Risk, Sleep, Volume 35, Issue 8, 1 August 2012, Pages 1025–1026.

[4] Prather AA, et al., Sleep and antibody response to hepatitis B vaccination. Sleep. 2012 Aug 1;35(8):1063-9. doi: 10.5665/sleep.1990.

[5] Nieman, D., Wentz, L., The compelling link between physical activity and the body’s defense system, Journal of Sport and Health Science, Volume 8, Issue 3, May 2019, Pages 201-217.

[6]> Eichelmann F., et al., Effect of plant-based diets on obesity-related inflammatory profiles: a systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention trials. Obes Rev. 2016 Nov;17(11):1067-1079. doi: 10.1111/obr.12439. Epub 2016 Jul 13.

[7] Durup D et al. A reverse J-shaped association of all-cause mortality with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D in general practice, the CopD study. J Clin Endocrin Metab. 2012;978:2644-2652

[8] Grant WB, Lahore H,. McDonnell SL, et al. Vitamin D supplementation could prevent and treat influenza, coronavirus, and pneumonia Infections. Preprints. 2020;2020030235.

[9] Chung C, Silwal P, Kim I, Modlin RL, Jo EK. Vitamin D-cathelicidin axis: at the crossroads between protective immunity and pathological inflammation during infection. Immune Netw. 2020;20:e12-38.

[10] Berk, L., et al, Mirthful laughter, as adjunct therapy in diabetic care, attenuates catecholamines, inflammatory cytokines, C-RP, and myocardial infarction occurrence, FASEB Journal, Vol. 22, No. 1_supplement, March 2008

[11] Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Nitric oxide; [Revised December 24, 2008]. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nitric_oxide&oldid=259865728.

[12]Vascular Medicine; Watching funny movies boosts blood flow to the heart. Health & Medicine Week,1660. Research Library database.(Document ID: 980266611); 2006.

[13]Berk LS, Tan SA, Fry WF. Eustress of humor associated laughter modulates specific immune system components. Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 1993;15:11.

Berk LS, Tan SA, Fry WF. et al. Neuroendocrine and stress hormone changes during mirthful laughter. American Journal of the Medical Sciences. 1989;298:390.

>Berk LS, Tan SA, Nehlsen-Cannarella SL. et al. Humor associated laughter decreases cortisol and increases spontaneous lymphocyte blastogenesis. Clinical Research. 1988;36:435A.

Martin RA. Is Laughter the Best Medicine? Humor, Laughter, and Physical Health. Current Directions In Psychological Science.2002;11(6):216–8.

[14] The Laughter – Immune Connection. Berk LS, Tan SA; [Revised November, 1996].https://www.hospitalclown.com/Past%20Issues/Final%20PDFs/Vol%202-2Berk.pdf.

[15]Berk LS, Tan SA, Napier BJ. et al. Eustress of mirthful laughter modifies natural killer cell activity. Clinical Research. 1989;37:115A.

 


Email me the blog whenever a new one is published.

Donate online, securely via PayPal using your credit or debit card (no PayPal account needed, unless you want to set up a monthly, recurring payment).


cancel recurring payment

 

Want to use zelle instead?
See how on our
Support and Donations page.

Upcoming Events

calendar

Testimonial Post Slider

Testimony 7

Ok, so last night I listened to “The Law of Liberty” and “How to Achieve Victory: Freedom, Truth and Spirtual Warfare.” These are both MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITES so far! The logic is just soooooo beautiful. I had to re-listen to them a couple of times. I just want to EXPLODE! (<< we assume with joy and happiness)

N. B., Canada

 

Testimony 66

I am incredibly grateful for the transformative impact you’ve had on my life, and words cannot fully express my appreciation. Over the years, I have been an avid listener and follower of C&R and extend my heartfelt thanks for creating the C&R mobile app. It has allowed me to immerse myself in your lessons repeatedly, enabling me to grasp the profound significance about the Character of God, Design Law, the protocols for life, the reasons behind the current chaos, and Christ’s mission to restore everything. They have deeply touched me. Having studied with various churches, I came away with the perception that God is no different from the deities of ancient Greek or Roman mythology—demanding sacrifices and taking pleasure in bloodshed. Thanks to your transformative teachings, I have experienced a profound awakening to the true nature of God and the immense power of His love. It is truly a remarkable and liberating sensation to finally grasp the truth and embrace the empowering nature of God’s laws. My self-perception has become brighter and more infused with love. My journey of growth continues on a daily basis.

Chris P., Lake Mary, FL, USA

 

Testimony 29

Thank you for all of your work to correct misconceptions about God’s character. So many people that my husband and I have talked to seem to be against the natural law construct and view it as “errant” and “dangerous.” Having learned more about it through your blogs and lessons, I don’t really understand why they view it that way, except that it means they have to relearn theology they have known for their entire lives. But I’m so excited to relearn this. For the past few years I have been questioning how I could trust a God who punishes arbitrarily and is full of wrath for those who don’t obey His commands. That view made me afraid to “mess up” or “not be good enough,” even within my relationship with God. I really appreciated the point you bring out about God not wanting us to serve Him because we are afraid, but because we love Him.

Melissa H., IN, USA

 

Testimony 44

We were given a gift of the DVD set, “God and Your Brain,” and we just finished watching it. The truths in this are so powerful and truly an answer to a prayer. We’re seeing hope where once we thought God wasn’t answering our prayers to be free of certain mindsets. He answered with these DVDs and we are hungry for more. Thank you!

Daniel T., Easley, SC, USA

 

Testimony 34

I was introduced to Come and Reason Ministries by accident, via a passing comment made in a bible study class we were visiting. I checked this website out and my life was changed. The understanding of the truth of God’s character, and how we apply it, is so right. The tricky part is consistently applying which “lens” to look through. As I began to understand, I started sharing the basics of this understanding with a discussion group I was leading and, suddenly, a lot of things started to make sense that never used to. At the same time, I enjoyed an amazing opportunity. I was able to conduct a full bible study at WORK! What an amazing experience! It is such a joy to share the truth about God and to share how it all fits in the war between God and Satan. So many people benefit when we have a correct understanding about how God works and who He really is! Thank you for this transformational understanding. Keep up the good work! God Bless you!

Tony P., CA, USA

 

Testimony 20

I just wanted to personally thank you for your teachings and insight into scripture. I came across your website via my cousin who suggested I look into “Healing the Mind” information. My youngest daughter has been struggling over the last couple of years and it all came to a head this spring. When I started listening to the “Healing the Mind” lectures my own life began to be transformed. I began sharing with all my daughters the concepts you laid out so clearly. I ordered your book and soaked it up. I just want to say “Thank You!” My walk with the Lord has been refreshed and renewed. Your obedience to the Lord is a blessing to so many.

R. K., Anderson, SC, USA

 

Testimony 59

I’m a native Ghanan, but am currently in France for my master’s degree. Prior to this, during my final years at undergraduate studies in Ghana, I was introduced to your ministry and I’ve been immensely blessed by what you share, especially about the Design and Imposed Laws. God richly bless you for that.

One of the first things I did when I arrived in France was to buy all four of your books. They not only helped me, but those I shared them with. I shared the message with an atheist student and I marveled at how God worked mightily in his life. Today this person shares the Love of God with others and debunks theories of who God is not. I want to share what you present in your “Heavenly Sanctuary and Investigative Judgment” pamphlet, because the message brought rest to my soul and I live today as a healthy person.

God bless you so much and your ministry.

Michael A., Ghana

 

Testimony 52

Your unique way in spreading the truth is what we all need today. Most of us don’t recognize the contamination coming from all the lies and selfishness in the world. Because of our fear of death, we forgot how to live. Lies left and right. I was losing hope and faith, because of so many ideas that are always contradicting each other – so many questions answered by other, more complicated, questions – until I found your channel on YouTube.

You did not just give me answers, you also taught me how to answer new questions that arise in my mind. Now I see things differently. I see God’s mercy, grace, and Love everywhere, in spite of all the chaos that we all have done as humans. I don’t fear death anymore. Accepting the Truth and Love about God is truly a genuine Freedom from all the confusions, sufferings, selfishness, pain, and death.

I just wanted to say, thank you, sooooo much for revealing the real Remedy for our infected life. I have a new hope and now see the world in a different perspective!

Wheinny P., University Place, WA, USA

 

Testimony 16

Your seminars are still inspiring and changing our lives and we continue to share the principles we have learned from you. Your ministry has changed our lives!

E.W.

 

Testimony 31

It was very touching to hear the testimony of your class share how viewing God’s true character has changed their lives. My feelings are the same – there is so much freedom in knowing that God LOVES me – regardless of my… just, REGARDLESS! I’m still blown away by the true gospel, the fact that God is not ready to strike us when we fail. He is not arbitrary. He simply loves us and warns of the natural consequences because He can’t stand to see us suffer. I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS GOD!!!

Ceil V.,  UT, USA

 

Testimony 2

I continue to enjoy your lessons every week. The more that I research your conclusions, the more I am convinced that the Holy Spirit has lead you to distill out the essence of human redemption. Thank you for your courageous stand for the truth.

S. G., TX, USA

 

Testimony 43

Two years ago I stumbled upon your book, “Could It Be This Simple,” and then found “The God-Shaped Brain” videos on YouTube, your bible study class, and the ‘Come And Reason’ mobile app. I shared your book with a friend and after nine months of showing love, patience, and kindness this person has been changed by the love of God, too. The same love that healed me, I now express to other women in tangible ways, such as to a Baptist woman with high anxiety and childhood trauma. She was extremely happy and relieved when I shared about the so-called “judgment of God” and burning in hell. She had no desire to serve a God that was so harsh. I have repeated the phrase dozens of times to her. “What we believe has power over us, but we have power over what we believe…”

This message that you are sharing has changed my life. I will continue to serve other women and bring this message of God’s healing love to their lives by sharing your books, YouTube videos, and The Remedy Bible app. Keep up the good work. Don’t be discouraged. God is doing a mighty work in and through this ministry!

Jill L., Midwest, USA

 

Testimony 28

I have been following your Bible study class for about a year now. I must say I am impressed with how your ministry has grown. I took it upon myself to listen to all your lesson podcasts from the past and they have both enriched me physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I have learnt a lot from this class. I have also noticed how the class has grown in spiritual strength. One of the things that benefited me is that now I am not afraid of God. I use to be, but now it has melted away. The second thing is that you helped me to have a real life relationship with God. Now He is my friend that was always there and I love having him with me all the time. Thirdly, because of this class, it inspired me to take over and lead a class. I have called it “Let Us Reason Together,” adapting your inquisitive style and creating a class of free thinkers.

T. Banda, Malawi, Africa

 

Testimony 69

After reading your book, ‘Could It Be This Simple,’ someone was explaining Christianity in a way that made sense to me for the first time in my life. One morning, I simply prayed “I’m sorry and I love you.” As soon as I silently said that, I could literally feel God’s presence and light flood down on me from above and fill me up with love and joy. I sat there crying my eyes out, because I was so overpowered with this feeling of love and joy. It was just so incredible. I hope that more people can read this book and get a blessing from it. It’s really amazing.

Rachael H.

Testimony 54

I had a lot of pressure, as a pastor’s kid, to conform and be “good.” I was good at being “good.” I thought my life was going along well until it all started falling apart and I could not figure out why! In my search for “why is this happening to me, God?” I came across your book, “Could it be this Simple,” and God started revealing to me the many distortions I held about His character, His principles, and how He has designed His universe to operate. I remember thinking, “Wow, I have had this all backwards.” I was happy and angry all at the same time. Happy to have the light of truth break through the darkness, revealing a wonderful, beautiful way of understanding God and His plan for His children, and angry, because I felt deceived and cheated by the church, my family, and myself!

My heart thrills when I listen to your bible study lessons. Literally I have gone from death to life. It is a journey I look forward to every day, as God reveals areas this distortion affects. Praise GOD! I will ever be grateful to God for this ministry and your cooperation with the Spirit!

Karen S., Portal, AZ, USA