Christmas Holidays Sickness
Seasonal changes can weaken your immune system, especially around Christmas holidays. Cold weather, bad eating habits, being in and out all the time can trigger colds or even worse – flu.
If you are wondering which habits are making you prune to being sick, check out what we’ve chosen for you.
Too Much Sugar
Christmas holidays wouldn’t be the same if there were no sweets, frosted cookies, candy canes and all sorts of sugary lattes.
Digging deeply into sugar can affect your waistline and your immune system as well, so why risk it?
Do you know that sugar consumption (especially around Christmas holidays)lessens our abilities to fight off infections?
We impose ourselves at great risk right at the peak of the cold and flu season by eating too much sugar.
To keep sweets in check, you can always eat a healthy snack before heading to holiday parties, and opt for sugar-free beverages if possible.
Dehydration
Dry winter air can increase your risk of infection if you don’t hydrate well.
A virus replicates much more effectively on a dry mucous membrane than it does on a moist mucous membrane, so cold and flu spread like crazy in dry environments.
What to do?
- Turn on a humidifier when you go to sleep at night, drink plenty of water and apply moisturizer
- Hydrate inside and out, as scratching itchy, dry skin can introduce germs into your body
- Drink plenty of water
Sleep Disorder
When going to Christmas dinner or to parties, usually you stay up all night long and sleep more the next day, right?
Just for your information, disruption of the sleep routine can trigger headaches to some people,and poor sleeping habits can precede insomnia symptoms and various sleep disorders.
If you suffer from:
- Constant tiredness (mild to severe)
- Irritability, temper and moodiness
- Loss of concentration, and in severe cases memory loss and hallucinations
- Loss of coordination
- Problems with relationships
- Tardiness at work or school
- Loss of appetite or binge-eating
- Use of stimulants
…you may have a severe sleep disorder that can weaken your immunity system.
Set a reasonable time to hit the sack each night, and try to stick with it.
And don’t forget not to over-eat and over-drink during Christmas holidays ’cause you’ll be sorry later.
Being More Indoor Than Outdoor
When you’re not exposed to sunlight for prolonged period of time, you tend to sleep more and exercise less, which contribute to a weaker immune system.
Vitamin D levels may decrease, and you all know that Vitamin D boosts immune cell production of microbe-fighting proteins.
Deficiency of Vitamin D is concerning because it plays an important role in many areas of our health.
It contributes to bone strength, heart health, and cancer prevention, it plays a hugely important role in your immune system and can be a determining factor whether or not you may develop an autoimmune disease.
In case of Vitamin D deficiency, you can take Vitamin D supplements for an extra immunity boost.
Bottom line: whenever you see sunshine – get outside and soak it up.
Seasonal Allergies Triggered By Your Christmas Tree
Some people are allergic to evergreens, and it may not bother them until they’re constantly exposed to the trees during holidays.
Some trees may also harbor microscopic mold spores that trigger sneezing and cause having an itchy and running nose.
If you are allergic to evergreens, opt for an artificial Christmas tree, or leave a real tree to dry a little bit in the garage for about a week.
Shake well before bringing it indoors.
Shopping Madness
At this time of the year, shopping malls are full with people trying to find the perfects gifts for Christmas.
It involves handling cash, opening store doors and using always germ infested ATMs, which are the main reason to catch bacteria or viruses.
Dr Richard Hastings, microbiologist for BioCote, says that ATMs have nearly the same amount of bacteria that can cause diarrhea and other sicknesses as public toilets.
When New York University researchers tested dollar bills, they identified 3,000 types of bacteria, including bacteria that cause gastric ulcers, pneumonia, staph infections and food poisoning.
Bottom line: keep your gloves on when you touch door handles or shopping carts, and wash your hands or use hand sanitizer before you have any kind of meal at the mall.
Wash your hands first!
Holiday Depression
Every once in a while, you may end up with holiday blues. It’s perfectly normal to feel a little lonely around all that holiday cheer surrounding you.
Everybody has its own reason to feel so.
Oftentimes, people who don’t have good social life, may end up watching TV where everything is around family gatherings. This can make them feel more isolated and depressed than they do other times during the year.
Being in a state of holiday blues can increase the stress hormone cortisol, which is known that suppresses and weaken the immune system.
If you feel extremely depressed during holiday season, it is good to see a doctor who may suggest therapy or medication.
Unfortunately, for many people the holiday season is a time filled with sadness, self-reflection, loneliness and anxiety.
If you’re hit by this blues you can:
- Set realistic goals and expectations
- Reach out to friends
- Share tasks with family members
- Finding some inexpensive ways to enjoy yourself and helping others
These are some of the ways to help beat holiday stress.
And you know what?
This may be just the right thing to do in order to spark some holiday spirit and stay healthy during that period.
You can always protect yourself in so many ways and still get your holiday spirit going!
The post What Can Make You Sick During Christmas Holidays appeared first on 1body1health.
