Forget Getting Sick - 4 ways to avoid it at all costs!

Forget waking up in the morning not being able to make talk because your voice is so raspy.  Nobody has time for trying to shove an entire box of kleenex's into their already over-packed backpack.  Bronchitis?  There's no way you'll be able to concentrate in class after walking 10 minutes in the cold/rain/snow weather only to be greeted by life threatening hacks that leave you wheezing like your dying - but hey, you really cant skip class because the Professor takes attendance so suck it up!




















This was my first semester of college at the University of St. Thomas.  Every other week I was practically dyeing with some sort of illness - bronchitis, cold's galore, even the flu at one point.  I was blaming it on the world, as people tend to do - "Oh, it was the crazy girl sitting next to me in my psych 101 class, she's always sneezing."  or even just "children...so many children..."  Then however I became a little bit smarter, either college was doing what it was supposed to or I just became more insightful, because I realized it was my own fault that I was getting sick so much and it was on my to fix it.  And so I did just that.  I starting to eat-up any article/research/person with knowledge on health. This semester, literally all of my friends at St. Thomas have been stricken with boogery, disgusting, colds, and I have persevered, healthy and well, though not wealthy yet.

The more people that don't get sick - the less likely I am to ruin my track record of a sick free semester, so I would really appreciate it if you followed these tips that are practically sure fire way's to increase your immune system!

1)  Splurge on the Fresh Squeezed Oj.

Orange juice is actually an opportunity to provide some of the most fundamental ingredients to boost our immune system.  It's truly a powerhouse with over 200% of your daily Vitamin C - plus, Vitamin A and B!

2) Become a Whale/Dolphin/Sea Turtle/Sea animal of choice and drink water bottles upon water bottles of water.

We are told to do this so often, but we never do.  Why?  Are we lazy?  Obviously we are lazy.  Have self control, rise above the laziness - drink more water!

3) Sleep.

If I were to choose a single thing from this list to pick out as the #1 way to avoid sickness, sleep would be the one.  This is what I was lacking the most that first semester and is also the thing that I have increased the most since.  I use an amazing app called Sleep Cycle which tracks your sleeping patterns.  You can set the alarm so that it wakes you up gradually so your not being forced awake in the middle of REM sleep, which will throw off your entire morning.  Aim for 8 hours a night and the difference will be unbelievable.

4) De-Stress.

This is also super important.  When you are stressed out, it is literally 10000000% easier to forget all of the things that I've already listed, and it lowers your immune system by a ton.  It is horrible for you mentally and physically to be stressed out.  Make a list of five things you can do when you start to feel stressed out - mine include taking a bath, reading a book, breathing, and yoga.  Always come back to these things the second you start feeling yourself inch into the depths of stress.


And if you do find yourself sick (probably because you forgot one of these 4 tips), here's a great article by one of my favorite blogs, The Chalkboard Mag on some natural remedies to try before you go to the doc - which always seems to be much easier in college!

What are your tips on not getting sick? Leave a comment, I'd love to know!