Sick of Being Sick?
The heart of flu season may be over, but that doesn’t mean that getting sick is out of the question. I find myself getting sick no matter what I try lately.
There are some common myths out there about how to prevent getting sick and how you get sick in the first place that I thought would be good to start off with.
Myth #1: Cold air gets you sick. It is actually not the cold air that gets you sick in the wintertime. It is being crammed indoors and all of the germs being crammed there with you.
Myth #2: Exercising in the cold weather is bad for you. False! Running in the cold isn’t bad for you one bit. The fresh air and getting some vitamin D is exactly what you need to keep your immune system up and running!
Myth #3: You lose most of your body heat through your head. Also false! You lose just as much heat through any exposed area of your body.
So what is it that you can do to prevent getting sick?
Drink enough water. Hydrating is a very important step to a healthy body. It keeps everything flowing the way your body should be and keeps your immune system in tiptop shape!
Get enough sleep. Getting your eight hours a day can do wonders for your body too. Another vital step for your daily recovery and a healthy immune system happens to be those eight hours of sleep. So try and stay away from your electronics during bedtime because they kill the melatonin that helps you sleep. The same goes for alcohol. Having alcohol in your system while you’re trying to sleep actually disrupts your sleep pattern and the sleep you get isn’t as good of quality as it should be.
Stay away from touching everything and sanitize! Things like handrails, door handles, water fountains, and other public areas are loaded with germs. Remember to wash your hands often, especially after touching public areas of high traffic.
Nail bitters. Nail bitters, you’re out of luck. Biting your nails is one of the easiest ways to get sick. The amount of germs underneath your nails is very high. Putting your germ-infested hands into your mouth is never a good idea when you want to be healthy. And how wants to be sick? Not me! I quit biting my nails about 3 years ago now and I can honestly say that I feel healthier ever since!
Exercise! Exercising on a regular basis that makes you sweat can highly lower your chances of getting sick. By exercising, you put your immune system into over drive and stimulate your epinephrine production.
Green tea. Grab some green tea instead of coffee. Drinking tea gives you an ingredient called EGCG, or epigallocatechin gallate, which stops influenza virus particles from entering your system and helps damage them if they have already.
Hopefully you learned a thing or two to help prevent you from getting sick. Be sure to sanitize whenever you touch public surfaces and keep those healthy lifestyles. Not only does being healthy make you feel great and look great, but it also helps you from getting sick. So what’s stopping you?
Yesterday you said tomorrow
-Eric Hess