How well your body responds to the COVID-19 vaccine may depend on what kind of shape you鈥檙e in 鈥 mentally and physically.
鈥淲e know, and there鈥檚 some research to suggest, that these vaccine responses are modifiable,鈥 said Annelise Madison, a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.
The vaccine may not be as effective if you鈥檙e stressed out, anxious, depressed, sedentary or not eating right.
鈥淚t can take longer to develop antibody levels, and the protection may not last as long,鈥 Madison said. 鈥淚t can impact things, like side effects of getting the vaccine.鈥
Madison鈥檚 findings are based on a聽review of 49 human vaccine trials dating back 30 years.
鈥淭his generalizes across a wide variety of vaccines, which is why we think that it also would hold true for the COVID-19 vaccine.鈥
will be published in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science.
Similar findings resulted from a study involving hepatitis B vaccine that was led by Madison鈥檚 adviser , a professor of psychiatry and psychology in the .
鈥淪tressed and anxious medical students took longer to develop their antibody response after being inoculated,鈥 Madison said.
Long- and even short-term adjustments can make a difference.
鈥淭ake the time right now to invest in physical and mental health,鈥 Madison said. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 need to necessarily be months and months of exercise. In fact, getting enough sleep on the nights immediately before and after the vaccine is extremely important to immune response.鈥
If you have more time to prepare, Madison said eight weeks of mindfulness meditation is helpful.
Also helpful for people diagnosed with depression and/or anxiety is .
鈥淭he mean successful intervention was six sessions in a total of about 280 minutes,鈥 Madison said.
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