How To Avoid Getting Sick - 12 Tricks of People Who Never Catch A Flu

You come home after a long day of work and feel soreness in your throat, or a sneeze coming on. Yup, we all know the feeling.

It can be extremely annoying when you have to get stuff done (and especially if you have made important plans!) and can’t bother yourself with being bedridden by a flu for days, or even weeks.

I have to say, I used to be sick quite often (way too often for my liking!), so I started Googling tips on how to avoid getting sick, and changed some of my habits accordingly.

Now I can happily say that I’m usually sick no more than once every few years. How? Whenever I feel a cold coming on I follow these tips to get rid of the cold fast.

Without further talk, here are 12 easy ways you can boost your immune system and help it to fight viruses.

1. Wash your hands throughout the day

Washing your hands often is the number one thing you can do to in order to protect yourself against bacteria and viruses.

Still, its easy to forget to do it enough. There’s no need to get crazy with hand washing, but it’s recommended to wash your hands at key times.

Remember to wash your hands with warm water and soap for 20 seconds throughout the day, especially:

Before and after preparing food and eating
Before and after coming into contact with (possibly) sick people
After using the toilet
After blowing your nose, sneezing, or coughing
After touching a pet or pet food
Touching garbage

2. Make time for friends and family

Having a social network might not be the first thing that comes to mind when talking about ways to improve your immune system’s ability to fight off viruses.

But studies suggest that getting some social interaction and spending time with friends and family can not only improve mental health, but also fight off infectious diseases.

Sociability increases self-esteem and reduces stress, both of which support the immune system. So go out and have some fun!

You can find more ways to relax and take some time off in my article about 40 easy self-care activities. These will definitely boost your mood, too!

3. Take cold showers

I know, I know! It can be chilling just to think about taking a cold shower. But many studies show that exposure to cold water may play a huge role in boosting the immune system.

The key is to start with small amounts of time of cold-ish showers at first. Then increase your cold shower time and decrease the temperature little by little. Work your way up as your body gets used to it!

4. Remember to stay hydrated!

Drinking water helps to flush out toxins, deliver nutrients to cells, and regulate body temperature.

Therefore, your body absolutely needs fluids to keep itself running and to maintain good health.

If you develop symptoms like dry mouth or lips, you should up your fluid intake.

TIPS

Don’t know whether you’re drinking enough? If your urine is more yellow than normally (urine should be pale yellow), you’re not drinking enough!
Flavor your water or make some tea to make it taste amazing
Suck on popsicles or ice chips to soothe a sore throat

5. Get your nutrients

Proper nutrition is important, and if you’re not getting enough vitamins and nutrients from food, you should consider taking supplements.

Some vitamins help you resist infections and keep your nerves healthy, while others help your body absorb energy from food properly.

Here’s 5 of the most important ones to boost your immunity, and where to get them from:

Vitamin C – oranges, bell peppers, kiwi, grapefruit, strawberries
Vitamin B-6 – beef, chicken, chickpeas, bananas, cottage cheese, potatoes
Zinc – beef, pumpkin seeds, Greek yoghurt, milk, lentils, shrimp
Vitamin D – salmon, tuna, egg yolks, mushrooms

6. Avoid touching your face

Viruses can be easily transmitted through the mucous membranes in the mouth, nose and eyes.

If you’re constantly touching your face or biting your nails, you really need to put a stop to these habits. You’ll find yourself getting sick a lot less.

When you find yourself reaching for your face, remind yourself that you’re spreading dirt, oils and germs to your nose and mouth.

7. Get enough sleep

Good sleep plays a vital role in the immune response’s ability to function, while lack of sleep can cause weight gain and higher levels of stress.

During sleep the body carries out all of the major housekeeping and repairs within it’s systems, like repairing muscles and removing waste products from cells.

So, try to get enough sleep (about 8 hours for most adults), and nap in between if you need to!

8. Reduce stress

Do you love to express yourself by painting, curling up with a book, or punching it all out in a boxing class to get rid of stress?

Whatever the method, regular de-stressing is a must-have habit if you want to avoid getting sick.

If you’re constantly stressed, you’re at higher risk for health issues, so be sure to make time to do things you love!

10. Exercise

Regular exercise contributes to your overall health, which means it also helps boost your immune system.

Of course, not all exercise boosts your health in the same ways – you should aim to get moderate exercise of more than 30 minutes daily, or almost daily.

Exercising has countless other benefits for both mental and physical health, so find something you love and get exercising!

Make exercising more fun by using your phone to track your fitness journey and do follow-along workouts. For that, you can choose one of the healthy lifestyle apps listed in my article.

11. Eat garlic

Some people credit garlic for their strong immune systems.

A 2014 study from the University of Copenhagen showed that there is a chemical compound in garlic called ajoene that actually prevents bacteria from harming the immune system.

Ways to eat garlic:

Don’t like to eat it plain and raw? Chop up a clove or two, put it on a spoon, and drizzle some honey over it
Buy garlic supplements from a drugstore
Add it into salads
Mix it into pastas or other dishes

12. Know when to power down

When you feel a cold coming on kick up your feet and take a nap. Seriously.

If you ignore your symptoms, you may actually make the cold last longer.

If I feel I’m starting to get sick, I always remind myself to put off chores and just relax to give my body time to fight off the on-coming cold.