Holidays are one of the worst times of the year to come down with a cold, let alone the flu. Nobody ever wants to be sick, period. But during the holidays, it will really put a damper on planning visits with family and friends and spreading that holiday cheer.
Here are 7 top ways to keep yourself healthy during the holidays and throughout the entire year.
#1 Wash Your Hands while singing the ‘Happy Birthday’ song.
It may be elementary, but lathering up soap while singing the “Happy Birthday” song will be more effective to kill those nasty germs that may still want to linger. It’s important to wash your hands outside of bathroom visits.
Picture this, how many people touch the same door handles, elevator buttons, shopping cart, etc., throughout your daily routine? Get into the habit of washing your hands every time you use the bathroom, blow your nose, cough or sneeze, or even after having a snack or a meal, prepping food for dinner, and after a trip to the mall or grocery store. If you think about washing your hands perhaps just going and doing it is a good idea.
#2 Wipe down all your door handles, steering wheels, cupboard handles, etc.
Anything that you touch throughout the week, wipe down! You can use those handy Clorox Wipes or another disinfecting cleaner. Keeping these wipes accessible in your vehicle, kitchen, garage area will help you to quickly clean as you go. Think about your vehicle steering wheel, this area might collect germs throughout the week from grocery visits and other community places you may travel through normal day to day activities without access to washing your hands after.
#3 Don’t always rely on the Hand Sanitizer
Rule of thumb, if you are in a pinch this will work. The best case scenario is when you can wash your hands and don’t rely on this as a main source of sanitation. Keeping Hand Sanitizer as a back up helps to cut the risk of additional germs spreading. A great place for this is in your vehicles glove box, purse or bag for those worst-case scenarios.
#4 Keep your hands away from your face
Whether it is a nervous tick to rub your eyes or scratch your lip, try to keep your hands away from your face during cold and flu season. This will protect you from passing germs from your hands to your mouth.
#5 Get plenty of non-processed foods
The more whole foods consumed increases the nutritional value your body is soaking up through that food source. Looking at the ingredient label for your favorite process food will include all of the added ingredient fillers decreasing the nutritional value of that food source. If the item is mostly processed food, like most quick dinners, it most likely will not provide your body with the nutrition it needs to fight off cold and flu season. Try daily to include more leafy green vegetables, apples, oranges, and grapefruit into your diet to help with fighting off bacteria. Garlic and other spicy foods can also help keep you healthy throughout the year and into the holiday season.
#6 Get Sleep
The body needs rest and recovery. If you are like most people, there is always something you can be doing; it is important to give yourself the proper rest after each day. Through sleep, the body processes the events throughout the day and is able to fight off those unwanted body intruders. If you are starting to run your body on empty, notice how you are feeling and take the precautions to slow down, say ‘no’ to an event, and get yourself some R&R.
#7 The Gym
There are studies linking cardio workouts to decreased respiratory infections, so please continue to work out. However, the gym is probably one of the dirtiest places and easiest places to pick up a cold. Take the precautions when working out: wipe down gym equipment before and after you use it, keep your hands away from your face to wipe off sweat when on machines, and don’t throw your sweat towel on the floor and then wipe your face with it. All of these are great ways to get yourself sick.
All in all, try to do your best in all situations to stay healthy. If you are constantly in social environments it is hard to manage. But if you are aware you can definitely take the precautions that will lead to building your long-term health.
