Flu, bronchitis, sore throats, colds: as the cold sets in, here's some advice to help you avoid falling victim to winter ailments.
So what can you do to protect yourself? And avoid getting sick during this difficult time?
A period that puts the body under strain
The winter blues often take a toll on our mood. The days get shorter. The lack of light starts to show. Fatigue, weariness, and low spirits settle in for the long haul.
As if that weren't enough, the body is put under strain by increasingly extreme temperature swings.
Of course, the end of the year is also a time for celebration and festivities.
But with that comes more travel, and more gatherings too. All of these are opportunities for germs and viruses to spread and multiply.
At work, stress is also often at its peak. With heavier workloads to meet year-end deadlines, and an exhausting final sprint before the festivities.
So what can you do to effectively protect yourself against winter ailments?
It can never be said enough: the first rule is to… follow some basic rules such as:
- Washing or disinfecting your hands thoroughly, without neglecting any part (between the fingers, for example),
- Airing out your home well every morning,
- Getting a flu vaccine.
As you can see, it's important to take all the necessary steps to take care of yourself and strengthen your immune health.
This is how you'll best be able to prevent colds and other illnesses this season.
Here's some essential advice for protecting yourself effectively against winter ailments:
Get enough sleep
Sleeping well is essential for health. The quality of your sleep is, in fact, your first line of defence against illness.
Well rested, the body is better equipped to defend itself and fend off winter ailments.
The best way to avoid getting sick is therefore to head into cold and flu season in as good health as possible.
This means, above all, that you need to get enough sleep. Poor-quality sleep is one of the most common causes of a weakened immune system. It's our first basic line of defence against illness.
Sleep is important for the immune system because the body regulates itself and rebuilds its immune reserves while it sleeps. And unfortunately, that won't happen if you don't sleep well.
So what can you do to improve the quality of your sleep?
Limit exposure to blue light
Many people spend more and more time in front of screens before bed (TV, phone, computer screens), which disrupts their sleep.
Blue light then prevents the body from producing melatonin, a hormone essential for good sleep.
It's as if you were telling your brain to stay alert and awake, by stimulating what's known as the parasympathetic system.
You can limit your exposure to blue light by wearing blue-light-blocking glasses in the evening, especially if you need to use screens before going to bed.
Go to bed earlier
And of course, limit screen exposure overall, and well before bedtime, as much as possible. A good opportunity to gather round a board game, chat, or simply go to bed earlier!
Adjust your diet
If you don't have trouble falling asleep, but wake up throughout the night (which is just as much of a problem), your sleep cycle is disrupted across its different phases.
You can then take several steps:
- Eat pasta in the evening or other high-glycaemic-index equivalents,
- Avoid heavy, fatty meals in the evening,
- Avoid drinking coffee or alcohol in the evening,
- Use comfortable bedding,
- Get a better mattress and better pillows,
- Adjust the temperature of your bedroom.
Eat healthy, nutritious food
We just touched on this topic. Diet is very important when it comes to health.
But of course, eating healthily can be particularly difficult at the end of the year, since pleasure is often associated with sweet, fatty food, even more so during the festive season.
And yet, making sure you eat the right foods can really help support your body.
Stay hydrated and eat a healthy diet made up of whole foods
These days, that's not a punishment! Many tasty dishes let you eat healthily, and new recipes are emerging all the time thanks to this growing awareness!
So focus on vegetables and avoid, as much as possible, alcohol and processed sugars.
The important nutrients to focus on are vitamin C, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin E.
Foods rich in vitamin C include dark leafy green vegetables, citrus fruits, cauliflower, and sweet potatoes.
Salmon, flaxseed, walnuts, and chia seeds are good sources of omega-3.
Foods rich in vitamin E, such as almonds, beetroot, asparagus, and avocados, are also recommended.
To get a clearer picture of what you're currently eating (and find out what's missing from your diet), here are 3 tips:
- Start keeping a food diary,
- You can also organise your kitchen to make it easier to prepare and eat healthier foods,
- And if you're craving fast-food-style meals, you can make healthier versions of your favourite dishes to satisfy that craving.
Keep an eye on your alcohol consumption
The arrival of the end-of-year festivities brings with it a multitude of parties and celebrations.
And while there's nothing wrong with celebrating and having a drink or two, it's good to be aware of the impact alcohol consumption can have on your body and its ability to prevent and fight illness.
Alcohol is detoxified in the liver. This is why you should be careful not to overdo it, as it can affect your liver, which also plays a role in your immune health.
As a general rule, a drink or two is normally fine. Plenty to enjoy yourself. But when you drink more than that (five or six drinks, for example), your immune system could be put at risk.
Your immune system's ability to fight infections could decrease because alcohol increases the liver's detoxification workload. And you don't want your liver to be overloaded with processing alcohol.
This means your body will have to work that much harder to fight off a cold or another illness at the same time.
Another downside of alcohol consumption is that it can disrupt your circadian rhythm, which means you may not sleep as well.
And having both your liver health and your sleep compromised isn't ideal for helping you fight off winter ailments.
Learn to manage stress
When you have to deal with year-end deadlines, numerous celebrations, Christmas shopping, and other commitments, it's easy to quickly feel exhausted.
That's why it's important to try to manage stress in a healthy way during cold and flu season.
Autumn and winter can be tough on our bodies, and when you factor in things like work-related stress, the hustle and bustle of the festive season, and anxiety, these things can really make us more susceptible to illness.
So, quite simply, take care of yourself…
And while self-care can look different from person to person, some things that can help manage stress include exercise or even using a sauna.
Indeed, both of these activities boost circulation and help you sweat, which is useful for strengthening your body during flu season.
You can also try meditation apps, walking outdoors, or disconnecting from the screens around us.
In conclusion
As you'll have gathered, with the arrival of cold weather, the best way to protect yourself and avoid winter ailments is indeed to strengthen your immune system. The immune system is a complex network of units that work together to fight off invaders, in this case bacteria and viruses.
Since it's a system made up of many parts, rather than a single unit, it can't technically be "boosted" as such. However, it can be strengthened to function effectively and fight off illness.
By carefully following the advice above and, when that's not always possible, you can supplement your diet with food supplements.
