09 Jan Wellness Tips While Sick

Remember that taking care of yourself is NOT a luxury, it is necessary to support your body, feel good, show up fully for all of your daily responsibilities and ultimately save you time because you can get more done when you feel better!

Your immune system is most compromised when you are sacrificing sleep, stressed to the max, doing everything for everyone else and discounting your own personal needs.

During sleep, levels of cytokine production increases with inflammation and strengthens adaptive immunity. Your body is working hard at all times to support you. But you also have to support it to do its job WITH you!

Rest and Sleep

Surrender and get to bed early, turn off your alarm and let your body sleep until you are ready to wake up. It’s wild this sounds sinful right? If this is impossible because of young kids or responsibilities, how can you ask for support? Can someone in your support system help with morning to dos or take the kids overnight? Use your resources, ask for help, surrender. Once you do this for yourself, you will be able to recover so much faster.

Restorative Movement

Just as much as rest is important, it may feel good to get outside for a walk or do some light stretching or yoga. Skip the high intensity workouts, but doing something that is slow and restorative may help to move oxygen, get some fresh air and change of scenery. Of course this is based on how you feel and your energy levels. If you feel like you want to move, then doing some light activity might feel good. But if your body is needing rest, surrender and just take it easy. You will recover faster and be able to get back to your routine faster too.

Nutrition

Continue to prioritize nutrient dense foods at meals. Eating well is about giving your body enough protein, carbs and healthy fats to function optimally. The micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) you need, come from these macronutrient foods. Which simply means the the nutrients we need in largest amounts through our diet. Adequate nutrition is going to help you recover faster when your body is fighting off a virus.

 If you are wanting comfort foods like mac and cheese or grilled cheese, how can you add some veggies and protein sources in the mix?
Mac and cheese – add in options like edamame, peas, broccoli, spinach, chicken.

Grilled cheese – add in sliced tomato, sliced chicken, salsa or make into a quesadilla option with black beans, cheese, salsa, shredded chicken or ground turkey.

Amp up soups with extra veggies. Chicken noddle soup is always a great option with protein, veggies, carbs, hydration.

If drinking something cold sounds better, making a protein smoothie with whey protein powder, frozen fruits and milk can be a great quick option with lots of nutrients.

Hydration

Continue to focus on hydration, honor the temperatures and flavors that sounds best. For example you may want carbonation – add in seltzers or sparkling water.

Flavored waters or hydration tablets you can add to water can help with drinking more fluids. I like the nuun tablets, immunity blend can be great when sick. These have a blend of botanicals and electrolytes with natural coloring and flavors.

Hot options like herbal teas with lemon and honey. I recently had laryngitis and the apple cider vinegar from braggs with honey and cayenne was hitting the spot and helped my throat feel better. I took a 30ml shot with water, but you could add it to hot water also. It is much less bitter than straight ACV.

And of course water is always a great option! Your body is often excreting a lot of water through constant running noses, fighting a fever or loose bowel movements. Continue to rehydrate regularly. Another good way to check hydration is making sure you urine is a light lemonade color and not dark yellow.

Self Care

Of note, all of the above listed items are self care. Other things that can support you to feel better are soaking in the bath with mineral salts and essential oils, or taking a hot shower. Continue to wash your face, brush your teeth and take care of yourself. I know it’s funny to have to bring these practices to light, but when you aren’t feeling well it’s easy to let your basic needs fall short, which makes you feel worse.

Surrender and give yourself the space and time to recover, so you can get better sooner and appreciate how good it feels to feel well.
These moments are true reminders that we don’t have much without our health!