No-one enjoys being ill and at this time of year as life speeds up and gets busier, it’s easy to feel run down or under the weather. Kids are at school and are passing around delightful little germs like a horrible game of pass the parcel. We all made a promise to ourselves to be better at self-care this year and to NOT be feeling rubbish by Christmas.
It’s not too late to take a little care.
It would be daft and probably untrue to say we can avoid the various lurgies, but we don’t have to put ourselves in the firing line. If that firing line is unavoidable, then what can we do to protect ourselves better?
What can we do to protect ourselves better?
- A balanced diet – it’s cold, it’s wet, the tendency is to eat rubbish and comfort eat. There is nothing wrong with the occasional stodgy meal, something that cheers us up but planning your meals to include fruit and vegetables, foods that fuel like stews and casseroles will keep some of those bugs at bay.
- Get outdoors – everyday won’t be a wet one. If the sun is shining (even if it’s not) getting outside, breathing in some fresh air and having a good old-fashioned stomp does wonders for the immune system. We should be aiming to get outside as much as we can.
- Supplements – these aren’t for everyone and getting advice on what you can/should take is always advisable but if you are in deficit of certain vitamins and minerals, take the tablets.
- Exercise – Not something we necessarily feel like doing on those cold and gloomy days but moving, whether its walking, running, swimming or a gym work out will make you feel better and you know it.
- Self-care rituals – warm baths using aromatherapy oils or Epsom salts ease aches and pains. Making sure that you protect your skin from the elements with a good moisturiser helps keep our skin hydrated. Regular use of hand creams avoids sore and chapped hands.
These are just a few things that we can put into practice to keep us as healthy as possible over the winter months, they don’t take a lot of planning or use a lot of energy (apart from the exercise) but they can make all the difference.
