When you start to feel unwell, what steps should you take to get better? Do you immediately call the doctor and schedule an appointment? Do you take medication for your illness to treat it as soon as you start to feel unwell?
There are a lot of steps you can take to simply feel better. Do you know how to feel better when you’re sick? Knowing some basic healthy measures you can do can make a huge difference, and even if you aren’t fully better yet, just doing these things can improve the way you feel.
Should you Take Vitamins when You are Sick?
You need plenty of Vitamins each day, and it’s very likely that you’re not getting enough if you are feeling unwell. A lot of the basic nutrients that are supposed to be included in our diet help keep us from getting sick and empower us to feel better when we are unwell.
Here’s a list of some of the vitamins and other nutrients that should be a part of your diet:
- Calcium
- Fluoride
- Folic acid
- Iron
- Magnesium
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin B3
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin E
How much of those are you actually getting in your diet right now? Your food may not be providing you with adequate nutrition, and to supplement, you can take a daily vitamin or multivitamin. You can also change up your diet to ensure that there are enough nutrients in what you’re eating. That can be a little trickier, but it really is the best way to get the nutrients that your body needs.
How to feel better when sick? Don’t just take vitamins to keep from getting sick. Continue to take them while you are sick. In many cases, your doctor may recommend that you increase some of your vitamin doses when you are ill.
Get as Much Rest as Possible if You’re Sick
If you’re not getting enough sleep, that can open your body up to infection and disease. A tired body is one that will have trouble fighting off an infection, and it will likely have a weak immune system. One of the best ways how to feel better when you’re sick is to get plenty of rest. That doesn’t just mean sleeping extra, but it also means taking things easy.
It means slowing down your schedule, perhaps taking days off from work. It means getting plenty of bed rest and not overexerting yourself. The average recommended amount of sleep when you are well is 7 to 8 hours a day. When you are sick, you should increase the amount of sleep you are getting.
This is one of the most effective ways how to feel better when your sick. When you sleep is when your body does most of the healing and recuperation. If you’re not sleeping, you’re very unlikely to get better. It may even be necessary to use medication that helps you sleep to ensure you’re getting enough rest while your body is trying to recover.
How Much Water Should you Drink When You’re Sick?
Water makes up about 70% of your body. It makes sense then that if you don’t have enough water in your body, it won’t be able to function properly. When you’re dehydrated, your organs start to malfunction. Your body needs plenty of water each day in order to feel at its best. This is even more important when you are not feeling well.
How to make someone feel better when they are sick? You can make sure they are drinking plenty of liquids. Water is important, as well as juice or Gatorade to help provide sugar and electrolytes so that they have some energy. Sweet but healthy drinks like juice and Gatorade are great for rejuvenating the body and giving it some short-term energy.
You should avoid drinking beverages like soda, milkshakes, and energy drinks. These can do more harm than good and should not be used as a substitute for water or other healthy beverages.
Hot drinks, particularly herbal teas, can be very helpful for people who are feeling unwell. If you’re looking for how to feel better when sick to your stomach, a hot beverage can make a big difference. It can settle your stomach and help with feelings of nausea, cramps, gassiness, and abdominal pain. Coffee is okay to drink when you’re sick, as long as you’re drinking it in limited amounts. Remember that you do need plenty of sleep when you are sick, and too much coffee may keep you awake and prevent you from getting adequate sleep.
Herbal teas like green tea, lemongrass tea, and others are not just calming to your stomach, but they can also soothe your throat and provide other medicinal benefits as well. If you want to know how to make yourself feel better when sick, drinking some hot tea can make a world of difference. If you don’t have tea available, simply hot water or hot chocolate can be helpful as well. Be careful about drinking anything with too much sugar, as that may not be the best thing for you as you recover.
Does Fresh Air Make You Feel Better When You’re Sick?
What also helps when you’re feeling ill is to spend some time outside or at least opening the windows in your room. Fresh air does wonders for someone who isn’t feeling very well.
It can actually hurt your ability to recover from an illness if you’re staying indoors all the time, particularly in a closed off, stuffy room. The lack of fresh air can be stifling and can make you feel even worse. You may be taking your vitamins, taking medication, getting plenty of rest and eating well, but if you’re not getting fresh air, you won’t get well as quickly as you should.
On that same note, sunshine is good for you as well. It provides nutrients to your body and stimulates your skin. Sunshine and fresh air work together to help you feel great. Even if you can’t go for a walk or get off your property while you’re unwell, you may be able to step outdoors for a bit and soak up some of that sunshine and fresh air.
You want to be careful about getting wet or cold while you’re outdoors, though. If you’re not careful, you can actually make your condition worse. It’s a good idea to check the temperature and the weather before you spend time outside when you are ill.
Stay Warm When You’re Sick
When the weather gets colder, it seems like more people get sick. That’s because their body is fighting off the chill and trying to keep them warm, and at the same time it is fighting off constant attacks from viruses and infections. The intense coldness of winter can give your body extra work to do, leaving it vulnerable to attack.
When you are sick, you want to make sure that your body isn’t exposed to even more extreme temperatures. You especially need to watch for anything that can make your body cold. Simply stepping out of your bed onto a tile floor in the morning can set your recovery back a little bit. Your body will be fighting the coldness of that floor, and it can be tough for the body to do that and fight off infection.
If you have to walk across the cold floor while you’re unwell, you can wear house shoes or socks to protect your feet. You may also want to wear a sweater or housecoat inside, if your home isn’t warm enough. A lot of people will put extra sheets or blankets on their bed to bundle up in at night when it gets very cold. Not everybody has central heating in their home, so these are ways that you can keep yourself feeling better and help your body to recover faster.
