e-Risalah USIM - Edisi Julai 2021

11 | Consume nutritious and unprocessed food Proper and adequate sleep All in all, it is crucial for us to take care of our body by staying physically fit and mentally healthy because we only have one body and we won’t get another chance for replacement. Practicing a healthy diet is very crucial during this critical time. The food and drinks we take in influences our body health as in to avoid, combat and heal from viral infections. Although we want to prevent ourselves from COVID-19, no miracle foods or dietary supplements can inhibit or treat the infectious disease instead of one consuming a healthy diet. Good nutrition can help reducing the risk of chronic diseases be it diabetes, obesity and heart ailment. Eating fresh and unprocessed food is essential to meet the body requirements, emphasizing foods that are rich in fibre, protein, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. With that in mind, consuming vitamins and minerals enriched with iron, zinc and chromium help to increase the chemical’s level in our brain such as serotonin, melatonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. The hormones released by the brain function to stabilize our mood and helps in relieving stress. Good sleeping is a critical guideline for the effectiveness in our immune system. How does this work to our body? A person who is sick requires a longer sleeping hours than a healthy person. The reason for this is because sleeping influences our immune system by making the whole body healthier again. During our sleeping hour, the immune system secretes cytokines hormones, which helps to promote quality sleep. However, certain cytokines are responsible to fight off against cancer progression and development. It is advisable for everyone to maintain proper sleeping pattern and obtain adequate amount of sleep especially during this stressful time. The optimal amount of sleeping for adults is 7 to 8 hours per night, whereas for children is 10 hours or may need more than that. Before going to sleep we can also do some meditation as it helps us to remain calm and enhance the inner peace. There are myriads of apps available on the Android Play store and iOS App Store that provide free meditation tips and tricks. JULAI 2021