Catching every cold or flu that goes around is no fun, but if you have a weak immune system, it’s way more likely to happen to you. If you’re looking to improve your immune system and increase your body’s resiliency, try one or more of these eight strategies to get and stay healthy, from sleeping more to eating well.
Destress.
Stress has been found to be one of the leading causes for when one’s immune system is not functioning properly. When your body is stressed out, the immune system’s ability to fight off antigens is reduced, thus making your body more susceptible to infections, infectious diseases and overall sicknesses. Luckily enough, you can prevent this by keeping a healthy state of mind. Take time out of your day to decompress and relax, especially if you are working from home. The anxieties and stresses of the current coronavirus pandemic have made working from home difficult, and people’s normal time for relaxation throughout the workday has been replaced with home-schooling children, conducting house chores and running errands. A great way to decompress at home is with a relaxing massage in a high-quality massage chair. By massaging and relaxing the muscles, your body’s stress levels will subside.
Sleep enough.
Yes, there is something that’s guaranteed to boost your immune system and, no, it’s not a supplement or a shake. Your body uses sleep to repair itself, making new proteins (aka the building blocks of the cell) while you snooze. Whether you’re fighting off an illness or injury or just trying not to get sick, sleep is your friend. You’re much better off skipping that expensive supplement and getting an extra hour of sleep instead. While everyone’s needs vary individually, most adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep every night to fully function and keep their immune systems in top shape. If you have trouble sleeping, there are several different things you can try, such as taking melatonin, muffling loud sounds with ear plugs or white noise and blocking out light with blackout blinds or curtains.
Exercise regularly.
Exercise builds your body and makes you stronger and less susceptible to illness and injury over the long run. For optimal benefits, you should aim for a mixture of cardiovascular and strength building activities. Generally healthy adults should strive for 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise spread out throughout the week, which equates to 30 minutes five days a week. There are many workouts that you can do at home or in your neighborhood with minimal equipment, such as running, walking, plyometrics and kickboxing. Experiment with some different types of workouts to see which ones you like best.
Eat a healthy diet.
Your gut and your immune system are very closely linked, and eating a healthy diet is an important component of maintaining a strong immune system. In general, you should eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains. Try to eat foods rich in fats and sugars only in moderation. Indulging occasionally is fine, but these foods shouldn’t make up the majority of your diet. Avoid any foods that you’re sensitive to, as they can result in inflammation and weaken your body (not to mention cause problems like stomach cramps and acid reflux).
Watch your stress levels.
Stress, especially chronic stress, wears down our bodies and makes us more susceptible to illness. If you’ve noticed yourself feeling tired or getting sick a lot for “no reason,” stress could be the culprit. Some of the other tips listed in this article, including regular exercise, are natural stress relievers. Many people also find yoga, meditation and mindfulness helpful in managing stress. You can also try deep breathing exercises, practicing aromatherapy (such as lighting a candle), spending time with your pet, listening to soothing music, and reducing your caffeine intake. Some Human Touch massage chairs also include a Sound Soothe feature, which allows you to get a full-body massage while relaxing to one of eight built-in nature tracks.
Practice good hygiene.
Good hygiene is incredibly important for protecting yourself from germs. You should wash your hands for a minimum of 20 seconds with soap and water. Don’t forget to lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers and under your nails. If hand washing isn’t available, you can use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol. There are many key times to wash your hands, including before and after eating or preparing food; before touching your eyes, nose or mouth; after using the bathroom; after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing; and after touching garbage. See the CDC’s website for full guidelines on how and when to wash your hands.
Don’t forget your mental health.
Lots of advice for boosting your immune system focuses on your physical health, but it’s important not to neglect your mental health as well. How you feel mentally is very closely linked to how you feel physically, and being stressed, depressed or anxious often manifests in headaches, upset stomachs, insomnia and other physical complaints. Exercising will help improve your mental health, as will getting outside in nature, connecting with friends and pursuing new hobbies. If you struggle with conditions such as depression and anxiety, finding a therapist can be a big help, and some people also find medications useful as well.
While many people want to take a vitamin and be done with it, cultivating a healthy immune system is more of a lifestyle—but it’s so worth it. Follow these seven steps to improve your immune system and better your health.
When it comes to preventative self-care, massage chairs can be a valuable health and wellness tool. Massage has proven benefits for overall health and well-being, from better sleep to improved immune function, reduced stress and pain relief.
With a massage chair in your own home, you can enjoy all of the following benefits from the comfort of your own living room:
Improved Immunity
Regular massages may help boost your immune system. Research from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center found that people who received a 45-minute massage had increased levels of lymphocytes, which are the white blood cells that defend the body against disease.
According to the American Massage Therapy Association, massage may help fight seasonal colds and the flu. When the body is in a deep state of relaxation, the number of natural killer (NK) cells increases. NK cells are white blood cells that rapidly respond to viral-infected cells.
Massage can also help the body get over a cold in other ways. The increased blood flow and fluid movement nourish the body while helping remove waste or germs.
Adding massage therapy to your preventative care routine can help strengthen your immune system, reducing the risk of illness. Having a massage chair in your home makes it easy and convenient to enjoy the benefits of massage, regularly.
Reduced Stress
Massage is an effective tool for alleviating stress, a silent killer. Studies have shown that a 10-15-minute massage can lower blood pressure, oxygen consumption and salivary cortisol levels.
Stress affects all areas of the body:
Musculoskeletal: Chronic stress can leave the muscles in a constant state of tension, which can trigger tension headaches and even lower back pain.
Respiratory: Rapid, shallow breathing and shortness of breath are both common responses to stress. For people with respiratory disease, stress can make breathing problems even worse.
Cardiovascular: When we’re under stress, our hearts beat faster and stronger. The body also releases the stress hormones cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline. With chronic stress, these effects are ongoing and may increase the risk of heart attack, hypertension or stroke.
Gastrointestinal: Stress can affect the entire digestive system, causing acid reflux, heartburn, nausea, bloating and even decreased nutrient absorption.
Endocrine: Chronic, high levels of cortisol can impair communication with the immune system, which can lead to the development of metabolic disorders, chronic fatigue, depression and other mental health conditions.
Studies have found that stress-relieving therapies, like massage, can improve or prevent these effects.
With a massage chair, you can enjoy daily stress-relieving massages right from the comfort of your home.
Neck and Back Pain Relief
Back pain is the leading cause of missed workdays and work limitations, and neck pain isn’t too far behind. Back and neck pain can cause a host of problems, even on a fundamental level, as it can cause difficulty bending over, lifting objects, and even just sitting in an upright position at a desk where compression on the spine can make normal seating unbearable.
Massage has been shown to be an effective pain reliever, and massage chairs are especially effective for alleviating neck and back pain, because the massager rollers are strategically placed to target these areas.
The Human Touch® Super Novo massage chair offers unique L-track and S-track massage systems that cover 60% more of the back than competing massage chairs. This unibody track delivers a soothing massage that extends from your neck and shoulders down to your thighs, while the dual-lumbar heat feature helps to loosen tight back muscles and further alleviate pain.
Better Sleep
Sleep is crucial to your overall health and well-being, but an estimated 50-70 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders that affect their health.
Poor sleep can affect:
Brain function, including your ability to make decisions, solve problems, cope with change, and control your emotions.
Physical health. Sleep deficiency can increase the risk of obesity, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other health conditions.
Productivity. Lack of sleep makes it difficult to stay focused and productive at work.
We know that massage helps alleviate stress, and that alone can help you enjoy a better night of sleep. However, a study on back pain found that in addition to pain relief, regular massages can increase serotonin levels.
Serotonin is a precursor to melatonin, the hormone that prepares your body for sleep and regulates your sleep cycle. At night, the body produces more melatonin, alerting the body that it’s time to go to bed. During the day, melatonin production decreases to let the body know it’s time to wake up.
Many people who suffer from sleep disorders have low melatonin levels. Massage may help increase serotonin levels, which ultimately increases melatonin levels. With a massage chair in your home, you can relax your way to a good night’s sleep.
Having a massage chair at home can be an excellent preventative self-care tool. With the touch of a button, you can melt away stress, alleviate pain and enjoy a better night of sleep.
Ryan Bader, MMA Bellator Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Champion, shares his experience with the Novo XT2 Massage Chair from Human Touch. Learn how he uses his Novo XT2 as part of his training and recovery routine, and why he says it will help "take his career to the next level."
Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash
By: Dr. James Rouse, Naturopathic Physician and Human Touch Wellness Council Member
You most likely have heard this ad slogan encouraging us to keep what happens in “Sin City” to ourselves, but I am of the belief that we need to shout what happens out loud, in relationship to our Vagus Nerve and its truly awesome benefits.
The Vagus Nerve is often called the wandering nerve, as it winds from the base of our brainstem to the abdomen by way of multiple organs, including the lungs and heart. The Vagus Nerve runs the show in your inner nerve center - specifically the parasympathetic nervous system which I love to refer to the house of Peace, Power and Positivity. Ahhhh, just that? let wash over you!
Do you long for Peace, Power and Positivity? You are not alone. This is most likely due to the fact that most everyone is suffering from being stuck on the sympathetic side of our nervous system where we feel wired and tired, a hair trigger away from the stress response of “flight or fight,” and all too ready to overly react to the small stuff. All this “stuff” left unchecked can lead to a whole host of challenges from depression, anxiety, sleep issues, immune dysfunction, heart challenges and possibly even shorter life expectancy…YIKES!
So what can we do? GO TO VAGUS!
When you actively engage with your Vagus Nerve you are on the road to recovery, and here’s how you can do it:
1) Create and sustain positive, loving, safe relationships
2) Meditate
3) Finish your shower with ice cold water
4) Sing
5) Laugh
6) Breathe from your belly
7) Exercise
8) Get a massage
We got this…right? I work on incorporating each of these daily, including massage. Any of the Human Touch massage chairs to the Massage Anywhere will do the trick. For me, I always finish my working day by engaging with my Novo XT. I use the “manual” program and click on “breathe”. It serves my mind, body and soul as I release my human doing and claim my human being…staying in Vagus as long as I can.
Image by: Nick Duell
Are you ever feeling like you are too tired to keep running…but you are also too scared to stop?
You are not alone, and research suggests that literally anyone who has a job is experiencing a rise in stress-related challenges and the not-too-subtle decline in performance, personal peace and overall quality of life. In my own life as a dad, husband, doctor, entrepreneur and over-committed sprinter in the daily decathlon of life, I needed to find a solution to proactively reclaiming my energy and my life.
So as I always do, I looked to science to find a proactive strategy that we can implement to shift from stressed to blessed!
One answer lies in the new wave of human potential, personal performance and enlightened energy management - the rise of ULTRADIAN RHYTHMS. You are most likely very familiar with circadian rhythms, which is basically the 24-hour clock that our bodies run to align our sleep-wake cycles. Ultradian Rhythms are more of an interval-based way of approaching each day, to optimize every aspect of performance by honoring the natural way our mind and bodies function in 90 minute cycles of work and 20 minutes of rest/recovery.
What we are learning is that we do not perform optimally well after 90 minutes of work. In fact, we experience a sharp decline as we try and push thru and keep going. But, if we are courageous enough to STOP…fully “dismount” from our Human Doing and allow our Human Being to step in - we will be met with an awesome upgrade in productivity, happiness, creativity, strength, focus and just about every “upgrade” we could ask for ourselves.
What should you do for 20 minutes? Here’s what you should not do: do not surf the internet, do not get on your phone, or check social media feeds....I know…hard
Here’s what you can do: nap, get outside, have a great snack, do a series of planks, or get a massage. Yup, that is what I do 2 x per day. I grab my iJOY Massage Anywhere by Human Touch, and give myself an instant mind-body-self love and care intervention. Massage gives me a beautifully unfair advantage when I come back to work, it increases key neurotransmitters associated with creativity and focus along with a re-set with stress hormones and allows me to feel more peace and balance…the ability to reclaim the rhythm of the good life!
Learn more about how to use massage to align your body with the new time changes in Dr. Rouse's newest video post:
iJOY® Massage Anywhere™ is the perfect solution for those searching for a portable massage chair.
Written by: Dr. Hoon C Kim, Acupuncturist and Human Touch Wellness Council Member
Image by: Henri Pham
No matter how much I emphasize the importance of breathing, it won’t be enough. Breathing is the base of our bodily engine system and enables us to live. Therefore, most people think they know how to breathe and it is then easily neglected, but here I want you to know of the right way of breathing, and the benefit of it.
In Chinese, the air is called kong qi – which is a spatial energy or energy from the space. Ancient Chinese must have known the importance of breathing; breathing is absorbing the vital energy from the universe.
There are plenty of books and articles of lower chakra, or Dan Tian breathing in Indian yogic practice and qigong; both put an enormous emphasis on abdominal breathing, or deep breathing.
Look at a baby or your dogs. How do they breathe? They breathe deep and comfortable with stomach region, and it seems so natural and easy.
Then why do most people forget this breathing, which we once all did?
As we grow old with stresses - anger, frustration, fear or anxiety- we became a shallow chest breather because of fight-or-flight response, which depends on chest breathing for quick, short bursts of oxygen. Eventually the body gets used to this shallow breathing.
What is this stress?
This type of stress is an animal instinct of fight or flight response, and acts as a self-defense system.
Under this type of stress, your body will need more energy so that heart beats will become faster and your breathing also will become faster and shorter to supply more blood to the muscles of limbs, and not the brain and digestive system. Therefore this stress can cause you to have headaches, stomachaches, muscle pain, sleep disorders, fatigue and so on.
So now imagine you have a body that perceives itself to be in stress all the time… your body will need that short breathing and sometime later your body will keep that breathing pattern, and this activates the body’s stress response system unnecessarily, emitting stress-related hormones.
How to evaluate your stress level:
1. Your head feels heavy and cloudy, and you get tired frequently
2. You get dizzy frequently
3. You have stiffness and pain in the neck
4. Your tongue has more white coating on it than usual
5. You have indigestion such as bloating, gas, belching and so on
6. Shoulders feel heavy, and you have tension with upper back and knee pain
7. When you get up in the morning, you still feel tired and heavy so your day starts sluggish
8. It is hard to focus on the work
9. It is hard to fall asleep
10. You have heart palpitations and cold extremities
11. You tend to avoid social meetings and a crowd of people
Normal: 0-3;
Moderate: 4-6;
Serious: 7+ (Necessitates a change in your lifestyle)
How to remove stress by changing your breathing pattern:
1. First take two-three deep breaths, exhaling fully through the mouth. Then slowly breathe in while expanding your lower abdomen to the count of 4. Then slowly breathe out while contracting your lower abdomen to the count of 4. Focus on breathing rhythmically and try not to move your chest.
2. Inhale through your nose to a count of 4 and exhale either through your mouth or the nose to a count of 4 and then pause for a count of 2.
As you become more comfortable with this breathing, you can increase the length of time of inhalation, exhalation and the pauses between them.
Practice this breathing for 10-15 minutes twice a day in the morning after you wake up, and in the evening before you go to bed and also at any time during the day (except immediately after meals). Though simple, if practiced regularly, this exercise can greatly benefit the health of your mind and body.
Bernadette Johnson, Director of the Integrative Medicine Program at Greenwich hospital, also offers these four easy steps to break the stress cycle:
1. Stop what you’re doing.
2. Breathe using your stomach (abdominal breathing) for a few deep breaths, allowing your gut to expand with air. Do not breathe using the chest, which most of us do normally. Count 1 to 4 while inhaling, then count down from 4 to 1. You should inhale through the nose and exhale from the mouth, but you can do whatever is comfortable.
3. Think about the cause of your stress, deliberating its importance in the scheme of things. For example, a computer crashes and you get angry. Clearly, seething won’t change or resolve the situation.
4. Rectify the problem with a viable solution.
Learn how 3-time Olympic Gold Medalist, Misty May-Treanor, uses her Novo XT massage chair to relax.
By: Dr. James Rouse, Naturopathic Physician and Human Touch Wellness Council Member
Just about this time of the year there is an ever increasing number of people who are falling into the support group called “not quite there” when it comes to feeling good about their New Year’s intentions. Research shows that most of our goals and resolutions tend to be fading fast by the end of January,as well as our confidence in ourselves to raise our quality of lifeto a level that reflects our true potential.
Is that you too?
Please do not despair, or think about ways you should be better by being harder on yourself…there is a possibly a better and more grace-filled path to success for you.
Massage.
Yup, I bet you didn’tsee that coming. As a clinician and a researcher, the science is clear and inspiring that giving yourself the gift of massage may be one of the most powerful paths to resurrecting your confidence that you do have what it takes to realize your mission for 2018 and beyond. Here’s how:
Massage rocks our resolutions by supporting the levels of powerful chemicals associated with success, happiness and health. First off, massage helps to keep the stress hormone cortisol in check-which in turn helps to serve our overall peace and balance. I believe we all achieve more under the influence of greater ease and grace - moving from stressed to blessed.
I have a wonderful knowing in my heart that “we” are also much better equipped to reach our peak when we are maintaining optimum levels of serotonin, the chemical associated with greater happiness, calm and centeredness, and massage may help to support this “check up from the neck up” too.
And lastly, we all tend to do better and realize more of our potential when we are feeling more motivated, confident and focused-this is the job description of dopamine, another chemical that is supported with massage.
You are here to create a life you love. If you are ready to allow the gift of massage to serve and support the highest expression of you…choose to allow massage to touch your mission and lift your vision to make 2018 the best year of your life yet!
Check out this helpful video from Dr. James Rouse on how to use massage to keep your New Years Intentions.
Human Touch Proudly Supports the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual and the College Football Playoff National Championship for the Third Consecutive Year
LONG BEACH, CA, December 31, 2019 -- Human Touch, the US market leader in high-performance massage chairs, announced they will be offering their therapeutic Novo XT2 massage chairs for the use of players, coaches, and media the week leading up to the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual (January 1, 2020) and the College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship (January 13, 2020). This marks the third year Human Touch has been a supporter of the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual and the second year for the national championship game.
“Moving into our 41st year, Human Touch has had a long history of developing innovative and intuitive products for individuals with chronic pain, including athletes, health professionals, and consumers alike,” said Michelle Guerin, Vice President of Human Touch’s Commercial Division. “We’re proud to continue our legacy by helping athletes and coaching staff with their recovery and regeneration at the national championship game and Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual.”
Delivering three-dimensional therapeutic massage capabilities that extend along the entire length of the spine and down to the thighs, the Novo XT2 is one of the most advanced and customizable massage solutions to come from Human Touch. In addition to its premium Flex 3D massage capabilities, the Novo XT2 features an Altec Lansing Premium Sound System that allows users to enjoy their favorite music, audio books, and/or built-in Sound Soothe nature tracks while enjoying one of the 35 auto-wellness programs designed to promote greater relaxation, recovery, and relief.
During the 2020 Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual, Human Touch will be providing eight Novo XT2s in the players’ and coaches’ lounges at the Oregon Ducks’ hotel and the Wisconsin Badgers’ hotel, as well as the media hotel. For the College Football Playoff National Championship, Human Touch will be providing 14 Novo XT2s in the players’ and coaches’ lounges at the two teams’ hotels, as well as the media and guests hospitality rooms.
For more information and to browse the complete line of Human Touch massage and wellness solutions, please visit https://www.humantouch.com.
About Human Touch
For more than 40 years, Human Touch has proudly served as the country’s leading provider and innovator of high-performance massage chairs, zero gravity recliners and other wellness solutions. Committed to creating the most immersive and personalized independent wellness experiences, Human Touch introduces patented massage systems that replicate the touch and techniques used by leading massage professionals. Each product is strategically engineered and designed to address the pains and stresses caused by today's hectic lifestyle using the latest technologies and intelligent ergonomics. Products are available at fine furniture stores, back care specialty stores, and mass-market retailers across the U.S., through international retailers and distributors in more than 40 countries.
Media Contact:
Emily Wong
Direct Ph: 562-733-7358
ewong@humantouch.com
www.humantouch.com
Media Kit
The current nature of Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) doesn’t give way to much familiarity. Most try to liken it to cryotherapy or sensory deprivation float tanks. Though they bare similarities, HBOT is completely different. HBOT is a non-invasive medical treatment of delivering a large amount of oxygen under pressure. That influx of oxygen supports rapid healing in the body during the session and in days after. But it’s not common place and our treatment chambers can look a bit intimidating, so we have made every effort to practice HBOT in an environment that is peaceful and relaxing. Our Human Touch® Perfect Chairs® really make the experience. Immediately, our patients are transported out of the grind of their lives and on a mini va-ca, into a spa where every need was thought of and met before the patient had to ask. The Perfect Chair is their first introduction to our place. We recline them, take vital signs, and walk them through the treatment. Our regulars stake claim to their favorite chair, colonizing them with their personal items, customizing the settings and regaling the newbies about their first time. This chatter helps; new patients tend to sink into their chair more at ease and all you see after a while are two pairs of feet in the air from a deep recline, like two white flags surrendering to the process, ready for treatment.
Once settled inside, the pure oxygen lulls most everyone to sleep. For good reason, your body wants to utilize the surge of oxygen. When the body is put under pressure, oxygen is able to be dissolved in to your blood at a much higher rate (Henry's Law). Oxygen is needed to make ATP which is cellular energy or cellular cash and just like every good capitalist society, cash is king, and your body goes right to work spending it. While the patient sleeps, cellular contractors are putting in bids and molecular architects are submitting plans. Every project is approved in this oxygen rich environment and the work begins without delay! Teams begin repairing soft tissue, building new blood vessels, stimulating the growth of stem cells, reducing inflammation/swelling, enhancing immune functioning, improving neurocognitive functions, fortifying bone tissue and more. All the patient has to do is breathe.
After 90 minutes, the patient is brought out of the chamber and welcomed back into our tranquil place. With all the changes their body undergoes, they experience disorientation and the feeling of being high. We guide them to take refuge back in a Perfect Chair. There is no better way to transition them back to real life. We preheat the chair with the jade infrared heat and have a tray with warm moist towels ready for them. The infrared heat improves lymphatic flow and increases circulation of blood deep in the tissues, helping to clear out any leftover waste from all the projects. Once they are nestled in, we recline them and let them re-acclimate slowly. This pause is paramount. The body needs to rest and readjust back to the oxygen poor environment. Once the patient feels like they are back down to earth, they are given vitamins and sent on their way. Routinely, patients will call us just to tell us about how great they feel even days later.
Our goal is to transport people away from the hustle of real life to a tranquil escape. We are reintroducing what healthcare is supposed to look like. It is our belief when people are placed in an environment rooted in patient first care, they actually heal. And that reintroduction starts and ends with the Perfect Chair. From the moment they sit down, they know we have invested in their comfort. The Perfect chair is not just a design choice, it is the treatment. The perfect bookends to a restorative hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatment.