Eight ways to support your Lungs, immune system, and nervous system as the year turns inward
For many people, the move from the bright, expansive energy of late summer into the crisp air of autumn is bittersweet. Schedules tighten, routines return, and alongside the falling temperatures comes a gradual turning inward toward a more reflective state.
In East Asian medicine, autumn belongs to the Metal* element (金, jīn). Following the outward, expansive yang of summer and late summer, the season opens the yin half of the year, turning the body, the attention, and the available light downward and inward. Trees offer their ripest fruit and then let their leaves fall, revealing the structure that was there all along. Harvest and release happen together, and each makes the other possible.
Metal carries the qualities of sensitivity, poignancy, reflection, and value. In nature, it shows up as the season's pared-down clarity: sharper air, cleaner light, the bare outline of branches against the sky. Its presence invites rhythm in your daily routines, clarity in your intentions, and refinement of your boundaries. Emotionally, autumn is a season of review, a time to take stock of what the year has asked of you and what it has given, so that what you carry into winter is something you've chosen. Seen this way, learning moves in cycles, and each autumn offers another turn.
In the body, autumn resonates most strongly with the Lung Organ Network* (fèi 肺). Of all the organs, the Lungs sit closest to the outside world. Through the nose, the throat, and the skin, which Chinese medicine considers part of the Lung system, they form the boundary where your inner environment meets the weather. Wei Qi, your defensive energy, circulates along this boundary and guards the surface of the body, much as your immune system does. This is why so many autumn complaints show up at the edges: chapped lips and hands, a runny nose at the bus stop, the first tickle in the throat. The Lungs also govern the voice and hold a close relationship with grief, which tends to surface in a season built around letting go.
For more on the Lungs as the "sensitive organ," their relationship with grief, and their role in immunity, see The Wisdom of the Lungs. For an at-home acupressure practice on the first point on the Lung channel, and a deep dive into the meaning within acupuncture point names, check out Meeting Lung-1: Central Treasury. Both make helpful companions to the suggestions below.
The ideas below draw from both naturopathic and East Asian medicine to support body and mind through this transition, including ways to prepare for the immune challenges the season tends to bring. Choosing even one is enough to begin attuning to the change.
Eight Ways to Harmonize Your Body with Autumn
1. Get ahead of the light:
Mornings: Daylight is shortening now. If you notice your mood, energy, or motivation dipping as darkness sets in, and especially if January and February are reliably hard for you, early autumn is the time to start morning light therapy. Circadian rhythms respond best to steady, early input, so beginning now lets your system adapt gradually rather than scrambling to catch up in midwinter. Fifteen minutes in front of a light lamp shortly after waking is enough to get started. Circadian Optics (no affiliation) offers several well-designed models at different price points. Light therapy is a non-pharmacologic way to support serotonin levels.
Evenings: The other half of the rhythm happens at night. Fall encourages slowing down and honoring your body's natural pace, and a calming bedtime routine is one of the simplest ways to do that. Give yourself time to unwind before bed with reading, gentle stretching, or a cup of herbal tea. A few minutes of mindfulness meditation can quiet the mind and prepare you for deeper, more restful sleep. Bright mornings and dim, unhurried evenings give your circadian system a clear signal to organize around.
2. Layer up, starting with your neck:
As warm days give way to cool evenings, dressing in layers protects your body from sudden temperature swings. All of the yang channels of the body converge at the base of the neck, at the top of the thoracic spine. Your ribcage and clothing hold in the warmth of the vital organs in the torso, but the neck is often left exposed, where it can act like an open vent for body heat and energy.
Exposure to cold weather doesn't directly cause you to "catch a cold." However, frequent temperature swings do ask your circulatory system to work harder, and that's the same circulation your immune cells rely on to get where they need to go. When your body spends its resources defending its temperature, it has less left to shuttle immune activity efficiently during a season full of extra immune challenges. A light scarf or a pulled-up hood is a small, effective habit, especially when you're tired, stressed, hungry, sweaty (from a recent workout), sleep deprived, menstruating, or otherwise depleted. Covering this area safeguards your reserves so your immune system can attend to the priorities in your body's interior.
3. Stock your immune cabinet now:
These are my seasonal favorites, and it's worth gathering them before shelves empty out. You can find my favorite immune support kit here.
Black Seed Oil: Research shows that the anti-inflammatory and immune regulatory properties of this herb can help reduce the duration and severity of viral infections (this includes COVID-19). Small clinical trials suggest it may shorten viral illness and lower autoantibody levels in some autoimmune conditions. Check with your provider if you take medications or are pregnant
Zinc and Elderberry Lozenges: tend to sell out once cold season is in full swing, so stock up early. Zinc interferes with viral replication in the mouth and throat and shortens upper respiratory illnesses. Lozenges should contain between 3-5 mg zinc (no citric or tartaric acid, no artificial flavors or sweeteners). Elderberry is rich in anthocyanins and other flavonoids, reducing the ability of certain viral strains (influenza) to take hold in the throat tissues.
Vitamin C: Work up gradually from 2,000 to 4,000 mg daily for immune support. (Buffered formats will be less likely to cause loose stool, which can happen with high doses of vitamin C.)
Beta Glucans: These therapeutic mushroom components stand out for their effects on immune function. Research suggests they improve the immune system's ability to respond to and resolve infections, help train its modulating response, reduce allergy symptoms over the long term, and support psychological well-being and mood. They're well tolerated in autoimmune conditions and as adjunctive support alongside immunosuppressant therapies.
Pulsed mycotherapy means cycling medicinal-grade mushroom blends two weeks on, two weeks off, a rhythm that supports immune function and resilience.
4. Recheck your Vitamin D:
Early fall is an ideal time to test your serum vitamin D. Levels tend to fall through the darker months, and vitamin D plays a central role in immune function, mood regulation, metabolism, and bone health. For immune protection and prevention of autoimmunity, I like to see serum levels between 50 and 70 ng/mL. Bringing them into that range before winter sets you up well for the months ahead.
Dosing works best when it's based on your current labs, so reach out if you'd like an updated lab draw or want to review your results together.
5. Balance the dryness:
The dryness and wind of this season affect the whole body, and the Lungs, which distribute moisture from the top down, tend to feel it first (for more on the Lungs as the “upper source of water,” see this post). You may notice it in your skin (dry or cracked hands, a tight face), your sinuses, your breathing, and even your digestion. A few ways to bring moisture back in:
Sip moistening herbal teas like licorice root, mulberry leaf, marshmallow root, or goji berry.
Drink water steadily through the day.
Run a humidifier, or practice nasal irrigation for dry sinus passages.
Eat your water. Steaming, poaching, stewing, and simmering keep meals hydrating and digestion moving. There's a reason it's soup season. For inspiration, Michelle Davenport, PhD, RD, writes beautifully about ancestral water-based cooking for health and longevity, and her Miso Salmon en Papillote is a lovely place to start.
6. Warm up your plate, and slow down to eat it:
It’s time to begin cooking and warming the raw fruits and vegetables that served you well in summer. Once the cold snap arrives, lean toward slow roasting and stewing, which draw Qi deeper into the body and nourish the Lungs and Blood. Stewed fruits like apricots and tomatoes make a wonderful base for a Moroccan-spiced stew like this one, and poached pears and apples are an easy autumn dessert. Minimizing sugar, alcohol, packaged foods, food additives, and trans fats continues to support both overall health and immune responsiveness.
How you eat matters as much as what you eat. Before a meal, try giving yourself six minutes of either a gentle walk or a practice that slows your inner body, like mindful breathing or self-kindness. Shifting into parasympathetic, rest-and-digest tone stimulates digestive function and lets you fully arrive at your meal. Eating in a settled state strengthens your capacity to absorb nutrients and maintain balance. Earth, the element of digestion, is the mother of Metal, so a well-nourished Spleen and Stomach directly feed the Lungs through the season.
7. Practice emotional hygiene:
Autumn is a season of review, reflection, editing, and release. This can stir up grief, sometimes for obvious losses and sometimes in quieter ways: a version of yourself you've outgrown, a plan that didn't unfold, or the end of summer itself. Mainstream culture makes little room for grieving, yet it's an important part of how you refine your life and make space for what's to come. A healthy grieving process can be part of the natural rhythm of this season, and it helps to expect it.
Give grief somewhere to go: a walk, a journal page, a conversation, a good cry, a slow breath all the way out. In the weeks ahead, notice what arises as the season turns, and what it's asking you to revise or set aside.
8. Use your voice:
In East Asian medicine, the strength and quality of your voice reflect the health of the Lung network. A voice that's thin, strained, or easily fatigued can be a sign the Lungs want support. Singing, humming, chanting, and reading aloud all engage the breath, open the chest, and gently tone the vagus nerve. Sing in the car or belt it out in the shower. Hum while you cook. Especially if this feels hard or exposing, your whole system will thank you.
If you'd like help tailoring any of this to your own body, whether that's reviewing vitamin D results, building an immune plan, or settling in for acupuncture as the season shifts, schedule care here.
REFERENCES
❍ Vlassopoulou M. et al. Effects of fungal beta-glucans on health - a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Food Funct. 2021 Apr 26;12(8):3366-3380. doi: 10.1039/d1fo00122a.