Cold and Flu No More: Part Duex

I wasn’t planning on this being a two part series, but after thinking about last weeks post on how to stave off the cold and flu I came up with a some more easy to do tips to stay healthy during cold and flu season.

Besides what I recommended in my last post
1. Covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze,
2. Washing your hands,
3. Keeping your hands away from your face, and
4. Using Hydrogen Peroxide,
you should also use some of these simple tips:

5. Keep Your Head and Feet Warm

Your mom told you to put a hat on when you go outside and the weather is cool and wet. Listen to her. She was right. The same thing goes for your feet. I know it’s trendy to wear flip flops year round. But your immune system, which is somewhat dependent on keeping your core temperature comfortably warm, is not interested in how cool you look.

A lot of body heat escapes from the cabeza. It also takes a bit more work for your body to keep extremities like your hands and feet warm. Throwing on a beanie and a pair of socks or slippers will help your body keep its core temperature where it wants to be to fight off infection.

6. Increase Workout Activity

Especially for those of us living in northern climates being forced indoors has a tendency to decrease activity. Decreased activity means a weaker immune system. So increase your indoor activity as much as you find your outdoor play time has decreased due to foul weather.

So what about working out when you’re pretty sure you’ve got a little bug trying to take hold? Well, here’s my hard and fast rules:

* Don’t workout if you think you’re coming down with something or you know you’ve got a bug. In that case, your body is working really hard to get better and working out will lower your resistance.
* Do light workouts if you know you’re over the worst of it. Even if you don’t feel 100%.

The way it usually works for me is if I start feeling like I’m coming down with something, BUT I still feel like I can work out, I DON’T WORKOUT. If I’ve felt like poop for a few days, laid off my usual workouts, and know I’m getting better, but I don’t feel like working out because I still fill sick-lazy. I DO A LIGHT WORKOUT. That’s just the way it is.

7. Get Fresh Air

Again, foul weather drives us inside and we tend to stay there. In the cold and flu season make extra effort to get some fresh air everyday. And NO, walking to your car is not enough. Shoot for at least a half an hour of outdoor activity. Also, throw the windows open in the house or apartment once a day. Get some fresh air in there.

Doing both of these helps your body get acclimated to the colder weather, and get’s some clean air in the stuffy cabin.

8. Get Plenty of Good Sleep

Personally, I think bears have it right. Just snooze away the winter. Get up around Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years to socialize then hit he rack again until May.

Seriously though, being cooped up more indoors, reduced activity, plenty of junk food hanging around, and shorter daylight hours all mess with our internal clock. Keeping regular bedtime and rising hours makes your immune system say, “Thank you.” Your immune system, by the way, loves regular good sleep.

The number one way to improve your sleep and get well rested is to start going to bed earlier. The number one reason that people don’t do that is poor planning and lack of discipline. The number one person to blame for that is not the kids, the spouse, or the job. It’s the person in the mirror.

Set a time to go to bed and reverse engineer your schedule for the day. You may find that you sleep better and wake up with out an alarm.

9. Follow Sensible Nutrition

Illness LOVES junk food. Keep your nutrition standards, if anything, higher than normal. The holidays are when people start thinking about loosening up their nutrition. Why in the world is that a good idea when your activity level is lower anyway? It isn’t a good idea it’s an easy idea.

Here’s my FREE Ebook on nutrition. It’s straightforward, a quick read, and easy to implement right away. It’s also not filled with a lot of pseudo science lacing many other nutritional guides. It’s grounded in good old fashioned common sense.

10. Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate

Most people are chronically dehydrated as it is. Winter tends to dry us out even more. This happens in part due to our bodies having to work harder to stay warm. Then there’s the dry inside climates that we’re stuck in.

One thing you can do to start to rehydrate and be well watered for the winter is have 2 full glasses of water when you wake up. Then, at least another glass of water every time that you eat. If you eat less than 4 times a day then you should get my FREE EBook on nutrition AND drink a glass of water at least every 3 hours.

That’s about it for now. Unless I think of more. Have you got any? Feel free to share them below in the comment section.

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