We’ve all had this experience – you go to sleep feeling perfectly average. When you wake up in the morning you notice a tickle in your throat or a stuffiness to your nose. You go about your day sniffling a little or coughing a touch, not worrying too much about it. Then, all of a sudden, it starts to hurt when you swallow and you notice you’re breathing through your mouth because your nose is unable to inhale. You hope it’s nothing – maybe just allergies or a bizarre fluke. But there’s no denying it my friend – you’re on your way to full blown sickness. And that is exactly where I found myself today. It’s no surprise considering I was up at 5am for an eight hour shift at Starbucks and then had two hours at home before heading off for a five hour shift at the restaurant. And that kind of schedule has been pretty commonplace in my life for the last month. Not that I’m complaining – the more I work, the more money I’ll have to go traveling one day. But the long hours take a toll on the body regardless.
I’ve developed a method that has kept me from getting sick for the last two years and I’m hoping it’ll save me once more over the next few days because illness is the last thing I need right now. I also want to share it with you because I believe in it way more than I believe in any kind of medication. Here are my two steps for making that cold stop dead in its tracks.
1. Sleep! Sleep whenever you can. It’s never easy to get as much sleep as you need but when sickness is lurking around the corner you need to make it happen. Take a night off from going out with friends, eat dinner earlier than usual, miss your favorite prime time TV show if you have to – just get your butt in bed and sleep. Your body needs to heal and the best time for it to do that is while you’re resting.
2. Eat well! First off, eat fruits and veggies at every meal. Get as many nutrients in your body as humanely possible. Generally, just eat as much natural foods as you can. This is no time to eat a white bagel with butter for lunch. It’s time to eat a salad loaded with nuts, cheeses and every vegetable you have in the house. Your body needs nutrients to heal itself and it isn’t going to get those nutrients from kraft dinner. It might seem like comfort food but comfort yourself with it once you’re better.
They may sound like super basic thoughts but sometimes a little reminder is just what we need to keep ourselves on track. That’s all I can say for now because I’m off to accomplish step one – there’s no way I’m going to let these sniffles get the best of me. I want to be able to taste my thanksgiving turkey this weekend so this cold has got to go!
Love this! This is EXACTLY what I deal with this time of year. But I agree- sleep is the number one cure! Plus a nice hot cup of herbal tea does the trick, too
Too true!!