Dailey Bailey: Four Secrets to Never Getting Sick

We’re getting into cold and flu season, so here’s a list from Health.com of the four ‘secrets’ of people who never get sick. Although they’re not really ‘secrets’ just common sense. Check ’em out . . .

1. Get as Much Fresh Air as Possible. Stepping outside gives you a break from the germs circulating indoors. Plus when you’re outside, you’re normally more active. Just walking around leads to an increase in the white blood cells that kill off bacteria.

2. Find Time to Relax. Just being stressed out messes with your immune system. Stress hormones inhibit your body from producing a certain type of protein molecules called cytokines. (Sigh-toe-kines)

They trigger your immune system to fight off different microbes that enter your bloodstream. And without enough of them, white blood cells don’t know where to go.

3. Wash Your Hands More Often. According to the Centers for Disease Control, hot water and soap are still better than any kind of hand sanitizer. Ideally, you should soap up for about 20 seconds before you rinse.

And the kind of soap that comes in a pump is best. Germs can actually GROW on a bar of soap.

4. Get Enough Sleep. A 2009 study by Carnegie Mellon found that getting less than seven hours of sleep almost TRIPLES your odds of catching a cold. (Health.com)