The Importance of Sleep to Help Your Body Fight Colds and Flu This Season

Can you recall a time in your life when you didn’t get enough sleep? For many of us, this happens from time to time. We’re staying up late to study for finals in school. Or how about those many sleepless nights after welcoming a newborn. Or maybe you suffer from the occasional bout of insomnia. Think back on one of those times. Chances are that those were also times when you were more likely to catch a cold or come down with the flu or a stomach bug. 

 

On the flip side, making sure you get plenty of quality sleep can serve as a sort of insurance policy. It strengthens your immune system and helps your body fight off any type of infection or threat that comes its way. In addition, your body will be able to heal itself faster should you come down with something if you get plenty of rest. That’s why your doctor often orders plenty of rest and fluids when you have a cold. 

 

But why exactly is sleep so important both to boost the immune system to avoid getting sick in the first place - and during the recovery period, should you come down with something? Your immune system uses antibodies to fight an infection. At the end of the day, it works the same whether you’re preventing an infection from taking hold or fighting one off that’s taken enough of a hold to make you feel sick. These antibodies stick to the virus and affect cells, rendering them ineffective. The virus-antibody combo can then be eliminated, which is why it is important that you drink plenty of fluids. It makes it easier for your body to flush them out. 

 

This still doesn’t explain the role of sleep, does it? I’m getting there. Your body produces antibodies more effectively while you sleep. I’m no scientist, but I’m sure it has something to do with the fact that your body isn’t busy doing everything else it has to do as you move about your day, running around, eating, getting that papercut that requires additional resources… you get the idea. While you are asleep, your immune system can work more efficiently at producing antibodies and deploying them throughout the body to fight the infection. 

 

Keep this in mind the next time you’re tempted to burn the candles from both ends, and use it as motivation to stay home and take a nap instead of heading into work when you’re coming down with something. 

Stay Healthy Through Good Diet and Exercise

One of the most important things you can do to avoid getting sick - and not just from cold and flu, but anything else out there that’s contagious - is keep your body as strong and healthy as possible. One of the best ways to do that is to eat a healthy diet and get some sort of daily exercise. Here’s what that may look like. 

 

Tips for Eating Healthy

 

Improving your diet to eat healthier can seem like a challenge. There’s a lot you can do. The key is to start and make small improvements as you go along. A great place to start is by cutting out sugar and processed foods. Replace them with whole foods options where you can. Have an apple instead of a candy bar when you need a snack. Fix some scrambled eggs instead of pouring a bowl of sugary cereal in the morning. Skip the fast food burger and fix a salad to take to lunch. You get the idea. 

 

From there, I would encourage you to add more fresh fruits and vegetables. Try something new. A new piece of produce, a new healthy recipe, a new way to cook your favorite foods in a healthier way. Experiment and don't be surprised if your tastes change over time. A baked sweet potato will start to taste better while soggy burgers will start to lose their appeal. 

 

Simple Ways to Sneak More Exercise into Your Day 

 

The key to regular exercise is to create a few habits. An easy way to start is to incorporate a brisk daily walk. Something as simple as a stroll after dinner or first thing in the morning can contribute to a healthy body. Another option many find helpful is to wear a pedometer or fitness tracker. Monitor your daily step count for a few days and then start to increase it until you get to the recommended 10,000 steps - or challenge yourself to do even more. 

 

Keep your bones strong and improve your overall fitness by adding some simple weightlifting routines. You don’t need any fancy equipment. Use your body weight for resistance and grab some cans to use as weights. Of course, if you’re feeling motivated, you may also choose to join a gym or hire a personal trainer to help you get into a good workout routine. 

 

Between the healthy food you’re eating and the exercise you’re getting, you’ll start to feel better, get stronger, and become healthier. As a result, your immune system will be in a better position to protect you from whatever cold and flu season sends your way. 

Avoid Getting Sick by Keeping Your Distance

There are quite a few things you can do to avoid coming down with the flu or catching one of those nasty colds this year. Yes, you can and probably should get a flu shot. Get plenty of sleep, eat a healthy diet, and exercise regularly. The healthier your body, the stronger your immune system. Another important preventative measure is washing your hands. But don’t stop there.

 

As much as possible, keep your distance from people who are coughing and sneezing. Turns out that the average cold or flu virus only travels about six feet through the air. That means if you can keep a little bit of distance between yourself and anyone that looks like they are sick, you improve your chances of staying healthy. 

 

Of course, that’s easier said than done. Sometimes we end up stuck in meetings with sick coworkers who didn’t stay home. Or we must brave public transportation. Or worst of all, we have to wait in a doctor’s waiting room or hospital. Wearing a mask and washing your hands will help. You should also do your best to keep that six-feet distance I mentioned earlier. Move a few seats if you can. Take a different route when you see someone with glassy eyes, or someone who’s showing any kinds of symptoms that indicate they may have a cold or the flu. 

 

Teach your loved ones to do the same. If they get sick, you will be surrounded by people who spent most of their day within close proximity of you, needing your help and physical attention. Eat a healthy diet and go out and exercise as a family. Boost your vitamin C intake during the winter months when cold and flu are most rampant. When they do get sick - it happens - do your best to protect yourself. Wash your hands and try to avoid getting coughed or sneezed on. I know, easier said than done, but do what you can. 

 

Last but not least, use your influence to encourage others to stay home when they are sick. Lead by example. Stay home from the office and avoid heading out to the store when you’re sick. If you have to venture out, keep your distance and wear a mask. Don’t sneeze or cough into your hands. Use hand sanitizer before touching common use items like the keypad at the grocery store and the likes. Keep your kids home from school. Spread the message of the importance of staying home when sick to get others to do the same. 

3 Simple Ways to Boost Your Immune System This Winter

We all have times when we could use a little extra boost to our immune system. Cold and flu season are certainly part of that time, or the long winter weeks when we’re stuck inside and more likely to catch something. It’s also important anytime you board a plane or when your kids start school. Here are three simple things you can do daily to strengthen your immune system. Which brings up a good point: For best results, implement daily. Let’s start. 

 

Eat Plenty of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables 

 

All systems of your body work best when they are properly fed. This includes your immune system. Stick to a mainly whole foods-based diet that includes plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. If you feel like you might be a little under the weather or suspect that you may have come into contact with someone sick, increasing your intake of Vitamin C may help as well. Eat a few citrus fruits. Broccoli, cauliflower, and kale are other great options. 

 

Avoid eating processed foods. It takes a lot of time and effort to digest them and you don’t want to weigh your body down with extra work when that energy could be used to boost your immune system, keep you from getting sick, or help you get well sooner. 

 

Get Some Exercise 

 

In addition to eating well, get out there and get regular exercise. For best results, work out in the fresh air. Something as simple as a daily quick walk can help you stay well and strengthen your body. It has the added benefit of helping you to de-stress. I don’t have to tell you that you’re more likely to get sick when you are stressed out. Use daily exercise to destress and stay well. It will also help you with the last way to boost your immune system. 

 

Make Time for Sleep 

 

This last tip is easy to skip over, yet it is the most important one for most of us and the one that can give your immune system a great boost. It’s getting enough sleep. Make the time to get seven to eight hours of sleep each night. Practice good sleep hygiene. Don’t let the word scare you. It means turning off your phone and other screens a few hours before bed. Keep your bedroom calm, quiet, and at a temperature that encourages sleep. It also includes establishing and sticking to a bedtime routine. As an added bonus, you’ll feel more energized for everything else you have to do all day. 

Good Hand Hygiene is Your Best Line of Defense Against Cold and Flu

With cold and flu season underway, and the pandemic scares of recent years, we all want to do what we can to avoid getting sick. Unlike bacterial infections that can quickly be cleared up with a round of antibiotics, with sicknesses caused by viruses like the flu or the common cold, you often have to ride it out. While there are medications that can help ease your symptoms, your immune system must fight the viral infection off. Why not take it easy on your body and do what you can to avoid catching it in the first place. 

 

Your first line of defense to avoid getting sick this year is simple - Wash Your Hands. That’s right. The simple act of washing your hands frequently with soap and hot water limits the spread of cold and flu viruses and your chance of coming down with them. Get in the habit of washing your hands whenever you’ve been out in public, and whenever you can throughout the workday. Wash them before you eat or drink food and when hot water and soap aren’t available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. 

 

Why is this so important? Because you are more likely to pick those viruses up with your hands than any other way. Sure, having someone cough in your face doesn’t help, but your chances of getting the flu or coming down with the common cold thanks to contact with a handrail or doorknob are much higher. You pick the virus up by moving about your day. It could be touching the handle of a shopping cart or closing a door behind you. It’s now on your hands, which isn’t a big problem by itself. It can’t enter through the skin there. 

 

The problem arises when you touch your face. It happens a lot more than most of us are aware of. We touch our nose, rub our eyes, or get our fingers too close to our mouth when we eat or cough. The virus makes it to a mucous membrane in any of those areas and it’s right where it wants to be. 

That’s why it’s important to wash your hands. It isn’t some busy work that healthcare professionals give you to make you feel like there’s something you can do. It is your best line of defense. So, what are you waiting for? Go wash your hands. 

 

Finding Your Purpose May Require Change

People have difficulty accepting change. However, it’s the one aspect of life we know will happen. Change is going to happen whether we like it or not. If you don’t do well with change, you should reverse your aversion to it.

 

Think of it this way. Perhaps you haven’t yet found your purpose because you have resisted change. That is a common affliction with many people. They simply refuse to accept that something different is happening in their lives. 

 

The good news is people adapt with relative ease. After a while, you’ll have no choice but to accept most of the changes that happen in your life. People close to you will move on (one way or another). You will go through stages of life. In the end, you will cherish the memories that you have.

 

There are unintended consequences in most changes that occur for you. For instance, your current boss may leave the company, and a new one is going to replace them. You enjoyed working for the old boss and are dreading the new one. He or she could be someone you don't like. Then again, the situation could now be beneficial to you. Perhaps you and the new boss think along similar lines, more so than your old boss.

 

You will need to deal with changes in your personal life, too. Your kids are going to move out of your house eventually. You may have to one day take care of your parents, and so on. When you are young and first starting out on your own, you don’t think of these situations.

 

The most significant benefit of any change is that it may be just what is needed to find your purpose. If you are used to the same routine, and it doesn’t seem right for you, changes may give you the boost and desire to find something that is right for you.

 

You should try to expose yourself to change more often. Some changes you cannot plan. However, there are many that you can. For instance, you can try to take an opposing point of view that you would never dare to in the past. If you favor a political party, speak with people from the opposite party. Try to keep an open mind when doing this. Ask them how they chose that point of view.

 

By exposing yourself to change, you will become better at accepting it. When this happens, you may be closer to discovering who you are and what is your purpose.

 

Obstacles Can Help Define Your Purpose

If you don’t know your purpose in life, look back on the obstacles you faced. Some obstacles you have no choice but to work through. For instance, if you don’t pay your taxes, the tax man will eventually find you. It’s rare that people get away with this. These are not the obstacles that define you. They are just annoyances that you must sort out.

 

You can choose to handle or ignore other obstacles you face. Your choices help define your purpose. For instance, if you come across a problem at work that requires a skill you don’t have, you can either let someone else handle it or learn how to do it. This experience will carry you through and possibly get you a promotion. On the other hand, if you let others handle the problem because you weren’t qualified, you weren’t meant to find a solution. It is not part of your purpose.

 

You may believe that you can learn any skill, and to some degree that is true. However, if it is something you aren’t passionate about or isn’t something you desire to learn, it’s going to be difficult. You won’t have a passion for everything that comes your way. In fact, you may feel the opposite about several of them.

 

When you are willing to do what it takes to overcome certain obstacles, you should look at the process on how you did it. Having the determination to overcome a barrier helps define your purpose, but the steps that led to the solution can also be telling. Don’t underestimate this as there may be hidden clues to understanding yourself better. In fact, the obstacle itself may not have defined much, but something within the process told you a lot more.

 

Obviously, the bigger the obstacle, the more defining it will be for you. Small obstacles and everyday problems are not going to make much of a difference about your purpose. Although, how you go about overcoming them can be.

 

If there are obstacles that are too overwhelming, try to figure out why. When you break this down, you may find the reasons are no longer valid. You may have had a stigma about something and made assumptions that you can’t handle it. However, new experiences and the wisdom of age may help you see it’s not as difficult as you once believed. That too is part of what defines your purpose.

 

Finding Your Purpose: Questions to Ask Yourself

Do you know how to find your purpose? If you posed that question to several people, the majority would likely answer no. It’s because there is a world of possibilities. People are afraid to try something new out of fear of the unknown. They often don’t know how to go about looking for what they should be doing.

 

You need first to ask if what you are doing now is satisfying. Put aside the bills and your paycheck for a moment. Do you get a charge out of getting up every morning to go to work? How do you feel on Sunday evenings, assuming you start up work on Mondays? Do you dread having to get up in the morning on Monday, or does it excite you?

 

Another problem is you may feel stuck doing something in which you don’t believe. Suppose you work for a company that isn’t doing right by the community. It may be legal, but you don’t feel it’s ethical. It pays well, and that is why you stick with it. You even like many of the people who work there. However, the company sells something that makes your stomach turn. An example of this could be working for a tobacco company. You need to ask yourself if you can continue to work in an environment which doesn't fit well with you. 

 

You will also need to ask yourself what will it take to make changes to get out of your current situation and into something you enjoy. It may require going back to school or at least, training online. Luckily, there are several options available, and many of them are cheap or free. 

 

If you find that the path is well laid out, ask yourself are you’re willing to put in the time and make an effort? If not, you haven’t truly found your purpose. You either need to continue what you are doing or find another path. Keep doing this until you are willing to put forth the effort.

 

You should explore your current situation and determine if you can change up your routine. For instance, ask your company if there are other opportunities within the organization that you can explore. If there are, they may ask you to serve two roles (your old position and your new one) while transitioning. Working like thiscould require putting in overtime, etc. But, it gives you some options to explore your purpose.

Stop Worrying About What People Think

Do you find yourself constantly doubting your decisions? Are you fretting over other people’s reactions to your actions or opinions?

 

In this post, we’ll share some tips and tricks to help you stop worrying about what people think of you. Learn how to use constructive criticism to your advantage. Then, simply filter out any negative judgment.

 

This will leave you less anxious and less overwhelmed. As a result, you can stay more focused on yourself and the best ways to achieve your goals.

 

Let’s get started.

 

Are People’s Opinions Holding You Back?

 

Worrying about what others think and feel about you is a normal part of our DNA. We’re programmed to seek others’ approval.

 

Studies show there’s a reward center that’s activated when we’re given a compliment. Even if you just sense other people’s recognition of your hard work, your brains fire up those same reward centers.

 

So, we feel good about ourselves when we’re accepted. Yet, we can’t always be accepted and liked by everyone at all times.

 

Problems start when we start pivoting our lifestyles to fit people’s expectations. We give others power over our lives and how we should live it. Consequently, we lose out on being who we truly are.

 

After that, things go downhill and start spiraling out of control. Being stuck in that mind frame can be destructive to you and those around you.

 

Going down this unproductive path, you’ll be leaving a path of destruction in your wake. Your job will be affected, relationships might be sabotaged, and your self-esteem will most certainly take a hit.

 

How Can I Stop Worrying About What People Think?

 

Do some serious soul searching. Do you feel that your reality has shifted? Have you started to believe in other people’s version of who you are as opposed to the real you?

Then, it’s time to step up and take some actionable steps. You owe it to yourself to share the real you with the world. They don’t know what they’re missing!

 

We rounded some simple, yet effective, ways to help you break this vicious cycle. Read on to learn more.

1. Focus on What's Important

Has someone said something unkind about you? Instead of letting it fester, don’t let it go to your head.

 

Chances are, that person won’t recall what they said in about ten minutes. Plus, what they say reflects who they are as a person. If you think about it, it actually has very little to do with you.

 

In other words, their perceptions of you come from them. And you’re not responsible for how they feel or what they think, neither can you change any of it. So, why waste your time fretting over something you have no control over?

 

Instead, channel that energy into something productive. You can learn a new skill, take up a class, or pick up an old hobby. Whatever it is, make sure it’s something you enjoy.

 

Below are some things more worthy of your time than worrying about what people think:

 

• Spend quality time with friends and family
• Smile at the barista serving your coffee or hold the door for someone
• Surround yourself with people who encourage and support you
• Volunteer at a local shelter or food bank
• Take a walk through the park
• Have dinner at that restaurant you’ve been dying to try

2. Highlight Your Accomplishments

We’ve all been through difficult times in our lives; some more than others. At the same time, we’ve all accomplished one thing or another.

 

It doesn’t have to be anything grandiose or elaborate. It just has to mean something to you, like filing your taxes on time or making home-cooked meals for an entire week. Be proud of yourself and all the hard work you put in.

 

You can even write down these accomplishments and hang them up on your fridge or vanity mirror. Then every time you catch a glimpse of one of your achievements, say to yourself, “I did that!” Say it over and over until your subconscious takes it in.

 

Another way to boost your confidence is to practice saying encouraging statements. These will help build up your self-esteem and improve the way you view yourself.

 

Here are a few statements to get you inspired:

 

• My self-confidence is on the rise.
• I’m worthy of all good things.
• I can’t control what happens, but I can control my reaction to them.
• My ideas are great.
• I’m blessed and appreciative of everyone and everything in my life.

3. Train Yourself to See the Positive

Our brains are wired to see the negative. We complain, we blame others, and we dwell. That has to stop today!

 

You can train your thoughts to be more positive. But not in a deluded, naive sort of way; in a healthy, productive way. As a result, you become less anxious and more resilient.

To be honest, this works if you think more objectively, especially when it comes to your weaknesses or flaws.

 

We all have them. Some are just better at acknowledging and improving them than others. Why can’t that be you?

 

Write down a list of five things that bother you about yourself. Then, set some realistic goals to change them and reward yourself each time you reach one of your set goals.

Make sure you start small and work at your own pace. The point is to feel good about yourself, not overwhelm or burden you. It kind of defeats the purpose.

4. Practice Relaxation Techniques

Relaxation techniques are becoming popular because people are realizing the importance of self-care. These techniques aim at reducing stress levels and improving your overall health. They also teach you the value of savoring the present.

 

When you focus on your today, you stop worrying about what happened in the past or what might happen in the future. These techniques can also help you stop worrying about what people think about you.

 

The great thing about them is that you can do them anywhere. Whenever you start to worry, remind yourself that you could be overreacting. In all likelihood, your colleagues aren’t judging you as harshly as you think they are.

 

Take a few deep breaths and focus on anything around you: your coffee mug, a cloud, and your nails. Anything that can steer your thoughts to the present moment will do the trick!

 

Then, lo and behold, you’ll notice that your pulse is slowing down and so is your heart rate. Your anxiety will start to recede and you’ll realize you don’t care about what people think as much anymore.

 

Check out these marvelous relaxation techniques. You can even do a couple of them as you’re reading this post.

 

• Mindful meditation
• Yoga
• Aromatherapy
• Guided breathing