What do you do when you feel that itch in your throat, stuff in your nose or heave in your chest? Keep your body in check with these tips from College Cures to keep healthy in a sea of tissues!
College Cold Tip #1: Emergen-C
If you feel yourself starting to get sick, load up on these babies every day until your throat scratches no more. I would recommend 1 package into a tall glass of water (I don’t know the Fl. oz, ok?) 3-5 times a day until your symptoms subside.
BONUS TIP:
Emergen-C packages have dual-usage: preventing hangovers! Drink a glass of water filled with the stuff before you go out drinking and when you get home for a hangover-free day the next morning.
College Cold Tip #2: Sleep
Extra sleep? During exams? Are you CRAZY?? Crazy I am not.
Going to bed a few hours early or sleeping in a few hours late will help to keep your cold at bay.
According to a study from MarksDailyApple.com, people who get less than 7 hours of sleep/night are almost 3 times as likely to develop a cold than those who get 8 or more hours of sleep/night.
Your body uses sleep to relax and rejuvenate it’s natural defenses, like your immune system, to give your body a fighting chance against all the germs floating around your dorm, classroom, and dining hall.
If you can’t get more than 8 hours/night when you feel a cold coming on, take time during the day to take a 2 hour nap to help replenish your body.
College Cold Tip #3: Food & Drink
No I don’t mean pizza and beer. When you feel sick, all you want to do (or think you should do) is eat a lot of chicken noodle soup.
However, by only eating soup, you are depriving your body of many of the things it needs to survive a nasty cold.
What does this mean?
Load up on lots of protein to provide energy/strength, fruits and vegetables for vitamins/minerals/iron, and LOTS of fluids like water and juice to help flush out the bacteria in your body. Soup is fine, but don’t forget the other stuff too!
College Cold Tip #4: Clean Your Room
Cleaning your room is a great way to get the stale germs out of your face, but also a great way to work up a sweat.
Start by washing all of your sheets, blankets, and pillowcases in hot water to kill the germs. Do a load of dirty clothes you’ve been using to wipe your nose, and throw in your towels too.
Give your desk, computer/keyboard, remote, and cell phone a sweep with Lysol anti-bacterial wipes to get rid of any hidden germs.
Vacuum your rugs to get the dust and germs out of the carpets and don’t forget to keep the window cracked to let in some fresh air.
Cleaning all of your stuff will leave you feeling cleaner and germ-free, but you will hopefully work up a sweat at the same time.
Exercising/sweating is good for your body because it gives it a chance to secrete bacteria through your skin, which is another great way to fight off a cold!
