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Coughs, cold, flu, viruses, and vomiting sickness bugs – it’s usually around this time of year that our friends, family, and colleagues all start dropping like flies. Each one succumbing to illness and time out from work, social events, and life in general. Sickness has a nasty habit of putting everything on hold – especially when you’re at your busiest – which is why, in winter, it’s so important to take care of yourself.
Making sure your first aid box is fully equipped will certainly help with all those minor accidents at home and at work – to make sure your first aid station is properly displayed, check out mysafetysign – but isn’t prevention better than cure? Read on for five tips for staying healthy through winter.
1. Wash Your Hands
Washing your hands is the best way to keep those nasty germs and bacteria at bay, making the likelihood of you catching an illness much lower. Be conscious of washing your hands a little more often, not just after you’ve been to the bathroom, but after handling money or touching door knobs or handles in public places.
If you can’t access hand washing facilities, don’t worry. A small bottle of anti-bacterial hand wash in your bag should suffice until you can get to some soap and hot water.
2. Don’t Neglect Your Exercise Routine
Dark mornings and even darker evenings make the thought of exercising an unpleasant one to say the least. But if you continue to keep up your exercise regime throughout the winter, you’ll definitely feel the benefits. You’ll have more energy, your immune system gets a much needed boost, and as with any exercise, you’ll feel great afterwards!
3. Keep Hydrated
Bitter temperatures and biting winds mean we’re reaching for hot drinks like coffee, tea, and hot chocolate more often. Winter also brings with it the festive season, which means plenty of alcohol and a mug of mulled wine or two.
While all this is fun, make sure you’re still drinking plenty of water throughout the day. Dehydration leaves you susceptible to illness, and you’ll feel fatigued and sluggish if you’re not drinking enough water.
4. Enjoy All the Veggies
Winter has some pretty amazing seasonal veggies to offer, such as broccoli, cauliflower, and juicy carrots – not forgetting the delicious fruits of the festive season, including oranges and satsumas!
Try incorporating fruit into your breakfast or as a snack to keep up your levels of vitamin C and antioxidants. To try and get more veggies on your plate consider wonderfully warming soups and plenty of side dishes!
5. Get Enough Sleep
It takes our body clocks a little while to get used to dark mornings and darker evenings in winter. And with so much to do over the festive season as well as work, social gatherings, and pressure from all sides, it’s no wonder that most of us aren’t getting enough sleep.
Not getting enough sleep leaves you vulnerable to all kinds of ailments, but it also makes you susceptible to winter bugs and illnesses. So, try to come up with a nice bedtime routine that helps you relax and get your recommended daily amount sleep.
