Keep Yourself Healthy This Winter
This year, the flu worse than ever and has claimed a number of lives. Make sure you’re taking care of yourself more than ever this winter season, whether in classes or outside classes. Your health should be important to you, so take the following steps to ensure that you survive through another cold winter.
Get some sleep. Sleep is very important for you. You’ll need about 7-8 hours of sleep a night. Pulling all-nighters may make life seem a lot easier and allow you to get more done in the day, but it’s bad for your body.
Keep yourself clean. Wash your hands after you’re in the bathroom. Wash your hands after you get out of the subway. Wash your hands before you eat. Good hygiene is important for good health. Carry hand sanitizer with you and use it often.
Stay away, germs. Keep foreign objects like pens out of your mouth. You might feel compelled to chew on the top of your pen, but you’re accumulating hundreds and hundreds of bacteria that could be potentially harmful.
Got a scratch? Don’t use your fingertips. Use something else, like your knuckle, to scratch that itch. Fingers are most likely to contain the largest amount of foreign organisms. Otherwise, use the hand sanitizer and scratch, but make sure your hands are clean!
Get a flu shot. Your health department likely offers flu shots. You might have some arm pain, and you might not want to wait on a long line, but in the end, it’s worth it.
Get fresh air. Don’t breathe recycled air that may contain pathogens from your own classmates or friends. Keep your windows open, if only a little bit.
Stay away from people who are sick. This is a given. If you’re sick, stay home and don’t give your illness to others. If your friend is sick, distance yourself from them. If your classmate is sick, sit on the other side of the room or yell at them to go home!
Eat well. It’s great to think you can snack on Bawls and chocolate during a midterm or term paper crunch, but it’s not healthy nor is it good during this season. Eat real meals, take your vitamins (especially vitamin C), and avoid replacing your essential nutrients with anything that’s less than brain food for a prolonged period.
Avoid using public computers or telephones. Use your own computer and don’t share with someone who may be passing around germs. Your cell phone, too, should not be shared. Don’t touch things that people touch regularly. You have no idea where the people’s hands have been.
Flick switches on with your elbow. Again, your fingers probably have more germs on them than your elbows, so use unconventional ways to touch things that other people might be touching with their own fingertips.
Be good to your body and your body will appreciate you, especially during the winter season!
