Healthy Places To Live That Build The Immune System

As the pandemic ground Los Angeles to a halt in March of 2020, I couldn’t help but notice a few strange unexpected changes in my surroundings. First, the sound pollution of passing cars was virtually nonexistent, and the air itself felt cleaner and easier to breathe. Whether these were purely psychosomatic or objectively founded, I’m not sure, but it did have me thinking about what environmental factors have a positive effect on the immune system.

Climatotherapy; it might sound like a word invented by your clamato loving aunt, whose leathery lips cycle rapidly between your cheeks and her cigarettes, but it is in fact a legitimate and fascinating field of study. As per Wikipedia, “Climatotherapy refers to temporary or permanent relocation of a patient to a region with a climate more favourable to recovery from or management of a condition.”

These affects can be as broad as things like the exhaustion felt when travelling to locations of high altitude, or as specific as the almost mystical restorative effects of the Dead Sea on Skin conditions including psoriaisis, vitiligo, and even atopic dermatitis.

But if you’re anything like this humble writer, you don’t have the means to travel to the dead sea at the moment. So the best next thing is to look into what factors have been quantifiably proven to have a positive effect on the immune system and then adjust our lives accordingly.

First, let’s talk air pollution. In Los Angeles we can see it hovering over downtown like the grease stains of so many unsuccessful writers smashed across an invisible glass ceiling.

Other cities however may think themselves immune from its insidious miasmic effect. Dust, soot, and chemical particles from every manner of pollutant pass into our lungs and provoke an inflammatory reaction. The effects of these particles on our overall health are subtle but potentially disastrous.

Take for instance a study from The Lancet, which correlates a higher incidence of GI illnesses with living in densely populated area’s. For that reason, it may be worth it to spend sometime outside the city, if you have the ability, or at least purchase an at home air purifier.

What about that pesky sound pollution though? The hum of the city that’s wearing down on your telomeres like waves crashing over a rocky shore. Noise pollutants have been linked to Hearing Loss, Cardiovascular Problems, Sleep Disturbances.

Case in point, I once almost tackled a neighbor because their dog decided that 4am was their time to vocalize the pain they felt deep inside. While dogs may live up to 15 years, the answer to your noise problems could arrive within a matter of days. Soundproof curtains, and a good set of noise cancelling headphones transformed my bedroom from a kennel of constant acoustic attack, to a veritable island of pristinely silent tranquility.

While living on an isolated plot with plenty of green space may be the best for your health, often times the best move is to adapt your surroundings to optimize your immune health. Don’t be afraid to take steps to transform the world around you to fit your needs. After all a healthy immune system could be the difference between life and death!