How We're Trying to Stay Healthy

I hesitate to even write this post, because as sure as I do, one of us will get sick, right? Ugh!

But we have both noticed (and dared to comment) that we've not struggled with sickness this year like we normally do. To be fair, we are actually pretty healthy people, and we are grateful for that. I read on Facebook about all these friends of mine who struggle with all kinds of respiratory things and ear infections and asthma flare-ups (and on and on the list goes) and we have historically not had all those things. We're also both pretty terrible patients, so maybe its just a big old blessing that we don't have to subject each other and all those around us to the sick versions of ourselves.

Because of our insane schedule as of late, we have definitely both had a lot of days when we've been exhausted almost to the point of feeling sick. And we've spent a lot of time in hospitals (visiting and working). They're not known for being germ-free, you know. So I have tried to figure out what we've done right or differently this year that has helped keep us well when there are so very many things working against us in life as a whole. Here are the things I came up with. They're in no particular order.

1. We're changing the sheets more often.
This was actually Ryan's observation. I'll make a confession: I used to be pretty terrible about changing our sheets. We tend to make the bed very first thing when we get up in the morning, and then I'd forget to unmake it and wash the sheets. Embarrassing but true fact about my housekeeping. Sigh. But this year, with the new cleaning schedule I'm observing, I wash the sheets once a week. Ryan is convinced that this one thing has made the biggest difference in our wellness this year. Maybe he's right. Maybe he's not. But it surely can't hurt, right?

2. We diffuse pretty much every day.
We've been using essential oils for about four years now, I think, but I've historically not been consistent about running the diffuser. I would run it like mad if one of us felt sick, and I would run it if the house smelled funny, but I didn't run it every single day. This year (with the exception of when we've had dogs around) I've run it almost every day. (I know some oils shouldn't be used around dogs, so just to make sure we don't make any of them sick, I just don't diffuse when they're here.) I have used all kinds of blends, but I really do think it's helped.

3. We've been using immunity blend rollers.
Also at the start of the year, I looked up a recipe for an immunity blend roller and put one together. Though I will confess that we should use it more diligently than we do, I do think it has helped. I put it on about every half hour when we were spending our days at the hospital.

4. Hand sanitizer!
Ryan uses a hand sanitizer at work a million times a day, because that's just what they're trained to do. I confess I'm not a fan of the hospital grade sanitizers, but I have made myself use it regularly when I'm there to visit or work out. (ESPECIALLY working out. I don't know who held onto the treadmill before I did!) But we use the Young Living Thieves hand sanitizer at home, and we have tried to use it more than ever. Obviously we wash our hands a lot too, but having hand sanitizer on the run is helping, I think.

5. We're doing better at cleaning the house.
This probably should have gone right after #1, and I really have no idea if it's helping a lot or just a little, but like the sheet theory, I think it can't be hurting! I have a schedule that keeps me cleaning one thing a day, so our bathrooms, floors and general surfaces are getting a lot more attention than they used to. The one thing I need to do even more? Doorknobs. Kind of like the sheets - I always forget about them!

6. Bundle up!
We're trying to do a good job of making sure we are consistent in wearing hats, scarves (okay that's just me), and gloves every time we go out in the cold. Ryan is good about wearing a hat, because he doesn't have hair to keep him warm, but I haven't always been great about it. But I'm determining this year to ALWAYS take time to bundle up, even if it takes forever. (Try telling Deuce about the importance of that when he's ready to go outside!)

7. Get ahead of it at the first twinge.
Ryan learned kind of by accident last year that if he starts to feel a cold coming on and he immediately starts regular doses of Mucinex, it kills the cold before it starts. We keep it on hand so if we start to feel a little twinge of something coming on, we can immediately start trying to counteract it. We're both cheap and hate the idea of "wasting" it, since it's not the most inexpensive medicine on the planet. But it's cheaper to take a couple of doses and ward it off than it is to need two (or more) bottles (each) during a cold!

8. REST!!!
Like I said at the beginning, the physical and emotional toll of this season has worn us down faster than anything else. We are trying to be very diligent to allow ourselves rest, because we really do need it. This past Sunday, I started feeling really achy and sick at church. I had no idea if it was an actual sickness or just being run down, but I didn't want to mess around with it. Ryan brought me right home and I spent the rest of the day on the couch. I think I took three naps. We can't always rest to the fullest extent when we wish we could, but we try to give ourselves the biggest graces we can when time allows.

9. We try to eat well and work out.
The working out part doesn't happen as much as we wish it could right now, but we get to the gym every single chance we get, and we hope that exercising and clean eating will help keep our bodies happier! (And we also think the occasional Blizzard could only boost it, right?)

Could we do more to help ourselves? I'm sure we could. We don't have a vitamin routine, and like I mentioned earlier, I could probably do a little more in terms of sanitizing door handles, phones, laptops, etc. But when I think about all the germs we've encountered, I feel like we've done a pretty good job trying to stay ahead of sickness-paloozas!

Do you have any good tips we should add in for staying healthy in this cold and germy time?