Do you keep falling sick very often and ever wondered why only you? If so, you are not really alone. Most of us who lead a modern lifestyle in a highly polluted environment actually fall sick with common diseases such as flu or cold. Some of the lifestyle habits such as spending a lot of time in front of the computer, not having enough exercise and increased junk food consumption contribute to the decline in immunity levels and increased risk of bigger health issues.
If you keep getting sick, just try the following health and lifestyle tips:
- Be regular with your food schedule: Modern lifestyle and work pressure often cause people not taking their food at a fixed time every day. The first thing you have to do is to know the meals schedule that works best for you and follow that. Needless to say, never skip a meal
- Drink a lot of water: Human body and its blood system needs a lot of replenishing to keep healthy and everything working as normal as possible. You have to consume at least 2 liters of water every day and if possible up to 3 liters regardless of the season
- Avoid junk food: The junk food culture has been the single biggest health problem that stare at the developed nations since the 80s. You have to stop consuming junk food on a regular basis though it is okay to have the same a couple of days a week
- Regular bowel movement: As important as your food schedule, is your bowel movement routine. It is very important that you follow a daily practice and time with respect to the same. Also, you have to avoid going to the toilet immediately after a meal or even loosening your belt after a meal or heavy fluid consumption is equally bad for health
- Hand hygiene: Your hands are bulk carriers of germs and hence hand hygiene is of utmost importance if you want to stop getting sick. Wash your hands with a mild liquid hand soap (or even surgical hand wash under epidemic situations) every single time you come out of a toilet, get back from your work place, after chores or after a drive
- Avoid touching face and nose: As much as possible you have to stop touching or scratching your face and nose under flu spreading conditions or when your hands are dirty. You won’t believe, it’s so habitual with most humans that they would like to adore their own faces with their hands
- Do not share food: You have to avoid group eating from the same bowl or plate to avoid falling sick. Well, shared eating is a boon for friendship but not so especially if you are always getting sick type. Even worse is the sharing of water bottles and cocktail
- Keep your home clean: Your home – especially during the flu season – needs special cleaning. The door handles, taps, flushing cistern attachments, toilet seats, telephone receivers or handsets are the most common carriers of germs. You may clean them at least twice a week with a mild germ-killing lotion
- Stay away from sick people: This goes without saying. Going near to someone who keeps sneezing or coughing is as good as falling sick the very next hour. Also, avoid shaking hands with people or hugging them if they are sick
- Avoid hand kerchiefs or cloth tissues when sick: Cloth hand kerchiefs are so common in European countries such as Briton though not so in the United States. Under sick conditions, you may not use a cloth hand kerchief – especially after it gets wet once – when you have flu or cold but use throwaway paper tissues. A hand kerchief used for blowing or picking your nose is an instant multiplier home for germs
- Keep the right humidity level in your bedroom: Having the right humidity levels in your bedroom is a very important health aspect that keeps your noses and breathing system clean. If your room’s humidity level comes down during certain seasons or due to the use of heaters etc, you have to compensate it with a room humidifier
- Ventilate your car and home: You have to ventilate your car with fresh outside air as much as possible when you drive. This is not something possible under all weather conditions, but at least for a few minutes of initial drive should have expelled the stagnant air from your vehicle. Also, you should stop pooling if one of the co-passengers is sick
- Avoid dust mite in your house: Dust mites and pollen content in the air are the main culprits for allergic cold. Mites are there everywhere but they are more found on carpets that are not vacuumed regularly. Also, if you have a lot of old books or newspaper in your open shelves, it is highly likely that there are a lot of dust mites in them. Unclean corners of your room are the other place where mites flock in
- Avoid alcohol and smoking: A non-smoking person is usually several times healthier than a smoking one. Though alcohol consumption in moderation may help some people, severe alcoholism results in bad sleeping conditions, dehydration and overall poor fitness levels
- Avoid too much of coffee or tea: If you are consuming more than two or three cups of coffee or tea per day, you may want to change your habits. You may switch to green tea or decaffeinated coffee if you want to still hold on to your habits. Strong coffee consumption is as bad as smoking or alcoholism because coffee is a drug
- Avoid unrecognizable food: Under those circumstances where you may want to eat out (e.g. while on travel) in some place that you have never been too, try to avoid unrecognizable food – especially the meat products
- Take short breaks: If you have a sitting job or something that demands excessive use of computers, you need to take short 5-10 minutes breaks to walk around and stretch to help your body relax and regain. You need to keep consuming a lot of water during these breaks
- Exercise regularly: This is my favorite tip. A healthy body requires regular exercises and those who exercise regularly do last long in good health. You don’t need to really go for a high profile gym membership or buy fancy fitness equipments to do exercise. You could think of a regular walking, jogging, swimming or playing with kids in the backyard as part of fun filled exercises
- Do not exercise when sick: It is very important not to hit the gym when you are sick. All that you need in that condition is a lot of rest, fluid intake and sleep. Go to the gym only if you are perfectly out of your sickness
- Avoid dirty swimming pools and change rooms: This goes without saying – especially during weekends and holidays. Sometimes, public pools can get dirtier so fast under severe usage conditions and it is better to avoid pools during such situations
- Use hand sanitizer and tissues: When you travel, keep your hand sanitizers and tissues stocked. In order to survive when you are out, you really need them
- Take natural immunity supplements: Natural immunity builders such as milk, eggs (in moderation), orange juice, cod liver oil capsules etc are extremely good for improving your immunity than those over the counter vitamin supplements. Equally important is the right portions of fruits, vegetables and salads in your daily menu
- Avoid antibiotics: When you are sick, it is better to avoid antibiotics unless you are really badly infected. Antibiotics can spoil your innate immunity system especially when you consume them several times a year
- Get enough sleep: And this is what most people might like but getting the right number of hours of sound sleep is very important. An average human adult needs to sleep around 7 hours a day though individual requirements may vary between 6 to 8 hours. Oversleeping or sleeping at odd hours is bad too. Regular exercises, taking early dinner and consumption of a lot of water can get you good sleep along with the other tips mentioned above
- Meditate: Regardless of your religious practices, it is always good to practice Yoga or other meditative forms to relax your mind and body. It can also reduce your stress and help get good sleep
To avoid falling sick with flu or cold you may consider regular intake of Vitamin C tablets. If you have a feeling that you are going to fall sick, taking some orange or lemon juice in room temperature along with a lot of water can prevent the oncoming condition to some extent.
Next time you read this article again, I am sure you will be bubbling with energy and good health.
