6 Tips for Staying Healthy this Winter
Winter is the time of the year when offices, schools, and even homes become breeding grounds for every virus under the sun. If your immune system isn’t up to the task, you can easily be put out of commission for days. To help ensure you have a healthy winter here are 6 health tips to get you through it.
1. Get a Flu Shot
As we’re all aware, we are currently on the doorstep of flu season. The best way to prevent catching it yourself is to get vaccinated, decreasing your risk of illness by more than 50%. The best time to get vaccinated is in October or November, a few weeks before flu season.
2. Keep the Sanitizer Handy
Recent research by the Children’s Hospital of Boston has found that individuals who carry hand sanitizer experienced 59% fewer cases of stomach bugs than non-users. When used correctly (correct amount, rubbed on hands for 10 to 15 seconds) hand sanitizer can virtually eliminate all germs.
3. Take Your Daily Dose
Find a daily multivitamin that fulfills all of your daily values of vitamins A, B6, B12, C, and D. You’ll want to take your multi with a meal that contains fat and a glass of water, both will help the pill dissolve faster.
4. Get Good Rest
Rest is crucial to a healthy body and immune system. Eating right, taking your supplements and getting vaccinated can only do so much if your body is worn down from not enough rest.
Chicago researchers have found that men who sleep 4 of the recommended 8 hours a night develop only half the flu-fighting antibodies in their blood.
5. Exercise
Daily activity can go a long way toward developing more antibodies in your blood. Studies have shown that even moderate daily activity like walking briskly, climbing stairs or playing a light tennis match can even make you 35% less likely to get a cold.
6. Hydrate
With the heat subsiding, many of us may not be hydrating like we did in the summer. Just because you aren’t sweating out in the sun as much doesn’t mean you shouldn’t hydrate the way you did before. Like the other tips on this list, the correct amount of water is crucial to your immunity.
Following these tips doesn’t guarantee complete immunity, but they will certainly decrease your chances of catching a bug this winter.