By Enyeribe Ejiogu
In the last few weeks, some well-known Nigerians have died from pre-existing health challenges that were complicated by COVID-19, particularly now that the Delta variant.
If you know what will kill you, goes a popular Nigerian saying, common sense demands that you simply avoid it. But sadly, a lot of Nigerians, especially in major urban areas like Lagos, Aba, Onitsha, Ibadan and other foolishly display wares in ways that partly block the roads and impede free movement of traffic, which often leads to loss lives when the brake of poorly maintained trucks and tankers fail and plough into people by the roadside.
In the same show of what may be characterised as suspended common sense, a lot of people are living in denial of the reality of COVID-19, even with the coming of the Delta variant that has caused a surge in fresh infections in the United States, India, Europe and other countries Nigerians love to troop to and ‘import’ the infection, along with their goods and suitcases filled with evidence of the latest shopping trips.
On radio, television and billboards, messages on use of non-pharmaceutical Interventions, NPIs, continue to be communicated but the majority of the people, seem to disregard the effort being made by the government and the media to effectively prevent or extensively curtail the spread of the virus and reduce the havoc it is causing to families and the society. Wearing a face mask, washing your hands frequently with soap, using alcohol-based sanitiser and reducing socialising are relatively simple and vital steps that can be taken to avoid getting infected with the deadly virus.
Besides adopting and religiously observing the NPIs, other simple things can be done to boost the immunity of the body and give it the ability to withstand the onslaught of the virus.
Then again, boosting the immune system is one key step that clearly within the power of the average individual. You don’t need a ‘Man of God’ tell you that! Begin today to take the following needful steps.
1. Sleep well and don’t be a night owl! Nowadays, a lot of people engage browsing vigils, by taking advantage of the strong and well-marketed temptation of cheap data dangled before them by the GSM companies, to surf the internet commenting on hundreds of Facebook posts, watch videos and free movies streamlined online. The clear consequence is their goes through abuse from the daily denial of adequate sleep. Some more sensible ones use the cheap data to download free ebooks or acquire new knowledge from watching Youtube tutorials on all kinds of things. People who use the cheap data for personal development can be pardoned, but the other night owls should ease off the practice, because the stress that comes from regularly missing sleep at night and not being able to make up during the day as such individuals have still out to earn a living, affects the body’s immune system and reduces its ability to defend itself from certain infections.
It has been established that the body heals from the stress of the day when one is asleep. A healthy immune system can fight off infections more than a sleep-deprived immune system. Adults should focus on getting between six to eight hours of sleep a night. Sleep in a dark room and keep a regular bedtime and wakeup routine. If you’re having trouble sleeping melatonin supplements may be a good option.
2. Lower stress levels. Ordinarily, a human being should have a daily lifestyle of reduced stress levels where it cannot be totally avoided. With the world still in the grips of COVID-19, the need to reduce stress becomes even more urgent and important. The primary reason is that medical researchers have found out that stress has real negative impact on the immune system. In the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, did you notice that people in quarantine and isolation were all encouraged to exercise? Why do you think that people from India, Thailand and some other parts of Southeast Asia engage in meditation? It helps to reverse and eliminate the effect of stress. Contolled breathing also aids in lowering the harmful effects of stress.
3. Give yourself a balanced diet. Nutritional deficiencies make the body more susceptible to viruses and bacteria. For this reason, every person must eat well balanced meals daily. When you eat various forms of carbohydrates such as bread in the morning, garri, yam or cassava meal in the afternoon and rice at night, you are definitely not taking balanced diet. Your daily food should include a generous amount
of vegetables (not over cooked), vitamins, proteins from beans, fish, meat, snail, etc, coupled with fruits such as pawpaw, orange, banana, walnut, tiger nut milk, etc, to provide the body with all nutrients, vitamins and minerals that boost the immune system and keep it healthy.
•To be continued next week
