There are many different ways you can help your body with cold prevention such as getting enough sleep, avoiding contact with sick people, building up your immune system, and washing your hands or using anti-bacterial spray /gel. I tend to have problems with not getting enough sleep, and typically after a long enough stretch of that, I end up with a nasty cold. I’ve been trying to work on some ways to help me sleep better in order to prevent colds, and I came up with 5 tips that have worked very well for me.

Tip #1: Limit caffeine intake

I’m a self-proclaimed Diet Coke addict. When I’m relaxing in the evenings watching TV or working on my blogs, I love to sip on an ice cold Coke. I always try to convince myself that I am immune to the effects of the caffeine since I drink so much of it. However, I have found that when I force myself to not have any caffeinated beverages after about 6:00 pm there is a huge difference in my ability to get to sleep in a reasonable amount of time.

Tip #2: Sleep with background noise

One of my biggest problems is that when I lay down in bed my mind starts to wonder. I think about all sorts of things from what I need to do the next day to finances to the trouble my kids have been getting in to lately. When I was single, I always slept with the TV on with a favorite familiar movie playing. My husband cannot sleep with the TV on, so since I got married I have tried other things such as listening to podcasts with headphones in so it doesn’t disturb him. This helps a bit but sometimes I get too engrossed in the content I’m listening to so it’s not a perfect solution.

Tip #3: Exercise

I go through phases of engaging in a regular exercise program. I definitely find that the times when I have worked out consistently through the week, my body is more tired and relaxed and ready to go to sleep at a reasonable hour.

Tip #4: Limit screen time

One of my bad habits is to veg out on my computer late at night obsessing over my latest blog project or political news. This sets my brain into high gear so when I turn off the computer it has a hard time calming down. And without having the benefit of some good background noise, I have a very difficult time getting to sleep. What really helps us to turn off the television and computers about an hour before I want to get to sleep and start engaging in some relaxing activities.

Tip #5: Engage in relaxing activities

One of the best ways to get to sleep is to read something BORING. Reading definitely can calm you down, but in my case if it is something I am too interested in (think Twilight or Harry Potter) it just causes more problems because I refuse to put it down and end up staying up all night. But if I can relax and read something non-fiction it helps calm down my mind and body. Other relaxing activities such as knitting, just sitting and chatting with my husband, playing a calm board game, etc. are all a lot better to do right before bed then watching TV or being on the computer.

Hopefully some of these tips might be useful for you in getting some better sleep and thus improving your ability to improve your body’s cold prevention abilities,.

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