12 evidence-backed tips for reducing inflammation
New research is shedding light on surprising ways to reduce chronic inflammation—including suggestions as simple as flossing your teeth.
It’s hard to imagine that one of your body’s life-saving mechanisms could turn against you. But it can and it does happen with inflammation.
Normally, inflammation is beneficial because it is triggered by the immune system to help your body fight off illness-causing germs and repair injured tissue. When the battle is over, inflammation is supposed to cease and desist. If it doesn’t, it becomes chronic, low-grade inflammation, which is invisible to the naked eye and can have harmful effects.
“Chronic inflammation corrodes the working cells and tissues of the body and can propagate a degenerative spiral,” explains David L. Katz, a preventive medicine specialist and past president of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. “It’s a key pathway to all major chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, and dementia.”
(The end of inflammation? New approach could treat dozens of diseases.)
The good news: You can take steps to reduce chronic inflammation through simple lifestyle modifications, and new research is shedding light on surprising ways to do that.
It goes beyond the anti-inflammatory diets you’ve undoubtedly heard about—but they are a good place to start. For many years, scientific research has shown that consuming lots of anti-inflammatory foods—such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, olive oil, fatty fish and other foods featured in the Mediterranean diet—can help reduce inflammation. In addition, the benefits of consuming anti-inflammatory spices like turmeric and ginger are highly touted, as is reducing your alcohol consumption.
But it’s a mistake to stop your efforts in the kitchen. Here are other everyday ways to decrease harmful inflammation in your body.
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1. Ease your stress.
Psychological stress is now recognized as a major trigger of inflammation. It activates the body’s fight-or-flight response, triggering the release of pro-inflammatory chemicals such as cytokines.
Fortunately, research has found that doing things that reduce stress—such as meditating or doing yoga—can reduce those pro-inflammatory cytokines, says Richard Davidson, a professor of psychology and psychiatry and founder and director of the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
What’s more, calming the nervous system with these and other relaxing activities can modify the body’s stress response and decrease the neurobiological effects of stress, both of which can ease systemic inflammation, Davidson adds. To reap the anti-inflammatory effects, engage in these practices regularly rather than waiting for the stress to pile up.
2. Trim abdominal fat.
You can’t spot-reduce fat on your body but you can adopt lifestyle changes that promote loss of abdominal (a.k.a., visceral) fat. And research has found that this will likely reduce inflammation. That’s because “visceral fat is more metabolically active,” explains Lawrence J. Cheskin, distinguished university professor of the department of nutrition and food studies at George Mason University.
What that means is that when a considerable amount of visceral fat is present, the body releases inflammatory cytokines and other pro-inflammatory chemicals in greater amounts. This leads to an increase in inflammatory markers in the blood, which doctors use to detect inflammation, including raised high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, as well as more insulin resistance, and elevations in bad cholesterols and blood pressure, Cheskin explains.
To shed abdominal fat, experts recommend lowering your overall calorie intake, exercising more, and consuming a diet high in fiber and lean protein.
3. Hang out in nature.
A study in a 2024 issue of the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity found that spending more frequent, pleasant time in nature was associated with lower levels of three different inflammatory markers (interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, and fibrinogen) in the body, among 1,244 U.S. adults.
“The simplest way to think about this is that regular, enjoyable contact with the natural world gives the body more opportunities to downshift from a chronically revved-up stress state,” explains study coauthor Anthony Ong, a professor of psychology at Cornell University. Visiting parks, woods, forests, mountains, oceans, lakes, and rivers can also elicit positive emotions such as calm, awe, and contentment: These upbeat emotions “tend to reduce rumination and support healthier coping, which has been linked to lower inflammatory activity,” Ong says.
(National Geographic's ultimate guide to "touching grass.")
There isn’t a precise anti-inflammatory prescription for spending time in green or blue spaces, but some experts recommend aiming for two hours per week, which can be accumulated across several visits. “We encourage people to build regular, meaningful moments of positive engagement with nature into [their] daily routines,” says study coauthor Dakota Cintron, a developmental psychologist and assistant professor at Claremont Graduate University. “This could involve pausing to notice nearby greenery, spending a few moments outdoors during breaks, taking walks in areas with natural scenery, or incorporating plants or natural elements into indoor spaces.”
4. Upgrade your oral hygiene.
Research has shown that flossing and regularly brushing your teeth (especially with an electric toothbrush) reduce gum inflammation, which in turn lowers markers of inflammation throughout the body. That’s because forms of gum inflammation called periodontitis and gingivitis serve as a portal for bacteria and inflammatory molecules such as cytokines to enter the bloodstream and travel elsewhere in the body.
“Doing all you can to improve your oral hygiene can improve systemic inflammation,” says Josh Redd, a naturopathic medical doctor based in Utah and author of The 30-Day Inflammatory Reset: A Complete Guide to Healing Your Immune System.
(Here's what your mouth can reveal about your health.)
5. Exercise consistently.
No need to train for a marathon or triathlon but research shows that regular aerobic exercise improves inflammation—at any age. In fact, a study in a 2025 issue of BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation found that doing moderate to high intensity aerobic exercise two to three times a week for 30 to 60 minutes at a time led to improvements in inflammatory markers in older adults. Another study found that 20 minutes of walking briskly on a treadmill led to decreased inflammatory cellular responses in healthy adults.
“When we work out the right way, it produces endorphins and hormones that reduce inflammation,” says Redd. The “right way” means not overdoing it because overexercising can trigger inflammation. To stay in the sweet spot, do some moderate-intensity exercise every day and increase the intensity and duration gradually.
6. Prioritize shut-eye.
Insufficient or poor quality sleep is associated with higher inflammatory markers in the body, and the same is true of inconsistent sleep patterns, according to research in the journal Frontiers in Neurology.
“Our immune system is regulated in part by the body’s internal clock—when your sleep schedule is all over the map, your body’s clocks might stop keeping the same time and inflammation is one of the prices you pay,” says study coauthor Joseph Dzierzewski, a psychologist and senior vice president of research and scientific affairs at the National Sleep Foundation. What’s more, inconsistent sleep can trigger your body’s fight-or-flight response, which can fuel inflammation, he adds.
(When you go to bed may matter more than how long you sleep.)
To avoid this, keep your bedtimes and wake times consistent; expose yourself to bright, morning light to help regulate your body’s internal clock; stay physically active and eat meals on a regular schedule; and create a relaxing bedtime routine to set the stage for better sleep, he advises.
7. Cut your chemical exposure.
“We’re constantly exposed to environmental toxins that contribute to or exacerbate inflammation,” Redd says. These include tobacco smoke, flame retardants, pesticides, air pollution, and other chemicals. “If we get to a point where our toxic load exceeds our body’s ability to eliminate these substances, they accumulate in our tissues and trigger inflammatory responses,” Redd explains.
It isn’t possible to eliminate environmental toxins from your life, but you can curb your exposure. How? By avoiding smoking, choosing non-toxic cleaning products, eliminating pesticide use in your home, and buying household items that don’t contain volatile organic compounds, flame retardants, and PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances).
("Forever chemicals" are hiding in your kitchen. Here’s where.)
8. Cultivate strong social connections.
Besides making life more enjoyable, staying socially connected has been shown to combat overactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which releases stress hormones like cortisol that can increase systemic inflammation. No wonder research in a 2025 issue of Brain, Behavior, & Immunity found that having an array of strong social connections is linked with lower systemic inflammation and slower epigenetic aging. “Social connectedness really alters the threshold for stress responsivity in the brain,” says Davidson, coauthor of the forthcoming book Born to Flourish: How New Science and Ancient Wisdom Reveal a Simple Path to Thriving.
9. Curb your social media use.
Social connections are important, but how they’re handled matters. Scientific research has found a link between excessive use of social media and higher levels of C-reactive protein. One leading theory is that social media use displaces time you might otherwise spend doing healthy, anti-inflammatory activities like exercising and spending time in person with friends. Another is that late-night scrolling can disrupt your sleep, also causing inflammation, explains study coauthor David Lee, a social psychologist and associate professor at the University of Buffalo, State University of New York. Plus, constantly being connected or available to others is stressful, he adds.
The fix: Break habitual social-media use (like scrolling while eating lunch) and set limits on it—by giving yourself a digital curfew, for example. “Focus on whether you feel in control when using social media,” Lee says. “If you feel bad after using it, can you stop?”
(Here’s what happens to your brain when you take a break from social media.)
10. Laugh often.
Research has found that watching a funny video leads to reductions in C-reactive protein levels, a key marker of inflammation. This may be partly because spontaneous laughter is associated with a reduction in cortisol levels, which in turn lowers inflammation. To get more laughter in your life, “give some thought to what makes you laugh and incorporate that in a more active way,” advises Caroline Kramer, an endocrinologist and physician-scientist at the University of Toronto.
11. Use an infrared sauna.
Infrared saunas rely on infrared light to penetrate the body’s tissues. Infrared sauna therapy promotes detoxification, helping the body release stored toxins that can contribute to inflammation, Redd explains. Also, research in mice has shown that infrared sauna therapy can reduce blood levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines like interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha—which may suggest promising results for humans too.
(Infrared heat is all the rage—and it may really come with health benefits.)
12. Get a massage.
Sure, the feel-good benefits are undeniable, but a massage also can do your body a world of good by reducing inflammation. This is partly because massage enhances circulation and the body’s detoxification processes, which in turn decrease inflammation, Redd explains. This is true whether you splurge on a professional massage or use a massage gun on yourself. In addition, getting a massage after exercise has been shown to reduce inflammation at the cellular level and promote the growth of mitochondria in muscle.
With every step you take to fight chronic inflammation, you’ll be doing your body and mind a major favor—and the more steps you take, the better. Besides improving the way you feel and function, you may reduce your risk of various life-threatening diseases.
“Almost everyone has the power to significantly lower their inflammation,” Redd says. The key is to use the right tools. Now, you have them.
