Feeling sick over the holidays? Here's why
If you’ve found yourself cradling the tissue box this holiday season, you’re not alone. In fact, a lot of Canadians find themselves reaching for the cold and sinus medication over their favourite festive days. So who or what is to blame? The sneezing child in the supermarket? Hugging relatives you haven’t seen in months? Stress from overspending on your monthly budget?
There’s a variety of factors that impact your holiday wellness, and yes, your seasonal cold can partly be attributed to all of the above. When you’re preparing for the holidays, your immune system kicks into overdrive to help you accomplish your to-do list before you hit full holiday mode. You work longer hours at the office to prep for time off, you sacrifice sleep to wrap presents, and you spend more money than you typically would in a regular month.
Once you finally set your out-of-office and wrap the last present, your immune system slows to make up for operating at 110 per cent in the previous days. Most likely, once your holiday has started, the intensity of the weeks leading up to vacation catches up to you, so just days after adjusting to downtime you start to develop a cough and can’t stop sneezing.
If you aren’t hit right away with a seasonal cold, you could contract it from someone else. Did you forget rosemary for the turkey and need to do another grocery run? Need more wine for your party? Those extra hours in the supermarket or liquor store increase your exposure to germs, making it more likely to feel sick before the holidays wrap. It is a known fact that crowds are one of the highest contributors to spreading germs, so it makes sense if you develop a stuffy head or cough after spending time in the grocery store.
If you’re travelling for the holidays, the extra commute can also increase your chances of getting sick during the season. Travel increases stress and forces people to spend more time traveling in confined spaces with others. Mass transportation contributes to transmitting cold and flu germs, so if you’re taking the train or flying halfway across the country, stock up on vitamin C and make sure to wash your hands often, reducing the risk of picking up someone else’s cold.
The final major culprit in holiday sickness is one of the most celebrated parts of the season: the food. While you always include Brussels sprouts and your favourite root vegetable on your turkey dinner plate, you may also be accustomed to eating shortbread cookies for breakfast. This increase in sugar weakens the immune system, causing you to get sick from a lack of nutrition that would normally fuel your overall health. While the variety of desserts and pie may seem inviting, take a break from sugar and snack on something a bit healthier, your body will thank you for it.
So where do you go from here? Grab your tissues and hug your vitamin C close. Rest and hydration — and no, wine doesn’t count — are best. Use your holiday cold as an excuse to curl up in your new PJs and catch up on the latest Netflix show. Soon enough you’ll be feeling better and wishing for some downtime. If you aren’t sick yet, make sure to get enough sleep, eat your greens when you can and enjoy alcohol moderately to keep your slate clean, dodging any potential cold symptoms in the near future and ensuring you’re in top shape to ring in the new year.
Do you find that you always get sick during the holidays? Let us know by tweeting @YahooStyleCA.
