How To Avoid Getting Sick

by AT

1.  Keep your hands clean

The flu virus can live on surfaces as much as 8 hours.  All you need is touch your sick coworker’s desk atouch your food with your hands… It’s that easy! Wash your hands as much as you can.  If there is absolutely no access to soap and water, use sanitizer.

2.  Stay Hydrated

Dryness—think a Rudolph-red nose or a scratchy throat—decreases your immunity barriers and opens the door to infection. Drinking plenty of water is crucial to staying healthy.

3.  Get a Good Night Sleep

“Our immune system is very, very good at fighting things off, but we do things to harm it,” says Robert Lamberts, M.D., a primary-care physician and health blogger at distractible.org. “When people don’t get the sleep that they need, their body can’t restore itself.”

According to Truax, snoozing for a minimum seven to eight hours a night can give your body the downtime it needs to fight off infection.

4.  Stay Active

Don’t use cold weather, hectic holiday shopping or a stacked schedule of festive soirees as an excuse to skip your workout. “Getting plenty of exercise actually reduces the stress hormone cortisol and improves your immune system,” says Vanessa Maier, M.D., a family physician at University Hospitals Case Medical Center.

5.  Hugs & Kisses

Unfortunately, spending time with friends and loved ones could be just as dangerous, in terms of getting sick, as hitting the mall. When hugs, handshakes and finger foods abound, you’re more likely to lower your germ-fighting shields. For example: “When I’m at the office, I’m washing my hands on a regular basis with every exam room,” says Lamberts. “Family events are where you’re at the highest risk—places you’d naturally be the most comfortable.” So keep up that hand-washing before you snack on a mini quiche.