When temperatures and leaves start to drop, you can bet your best pair of winter boots that flu and cold numbers are going to rise!
Fall is leading us into the coldest season, with sniffles and sneezes to guide the way as more and more of us contract contagious illnesses at school, work, and other public places. But does it always have to be this way? Are there things we can do to prevent colds and flu in our workplaces and beyond?
The answer, thankfully, is a resounding yes. Read on to get our top 3 tips — including workplace vaccination clinics — for reducing workplace illness and keeping your immune system strong during cold and flu season.
In This Article:
- Avoid skimping on your wellness practices
- Staying consistent with your healthy choices
- Encouraging workplace vaccination clinics
1. Don’t Skimp on Your Wellness Practices
What’s not to love about sweater weather? Especially after a summer of record-high heat, the cozy gloom of autumn feels like a gift.
Except that it also makes us want to hibernate on the couch or by the fire, or else forget all our plans for healthy eating and gorge on comfort foods. During fall, our wellness practices can disappear faster than we can put our swimsuits back in the attic.
That’s why our first tip for combatting cold and flu season is to double down on the things that make your body healthy and strong. Think: Eating nutritious foods, getting regular exercise despite the chill, prioritizing deep sleep, managing stress, and creating restorative environments in our home.
Diet
Nutrient-dense foods are rich in vitamins and minerals that can help bolster your entire body, and therefore support you in warding off seasonal illnesses. Consider incorporating new foods and seasonal eats into your diet to diversify your nutrient intake. Like pumpkins, squash, and apples, which are not only delicious but in-season, too, and packed with helpful compounds.
Exercise
Getting regular movement in might seem even more challenging when it’s cold outside, but even indoor workouts can boost both your mood and your health. Try body-based, weight-bearing exercises from the comfort of your living room, or bundle up for a brisk walk through the vibrant foliage. Because physical activity isn’t just about maintaining your weight — it’s about strengthening your body’s defenses.
Sleep
Quality sleep is another cornerstone of good health that often gets overlooked in the hustle and bustle of daily life. As the days get shorter, prioritize sleep hygiene by establishing a relaxing bedtime routine and creating a sleep-friendly environment. Consider using blackout curtains to keep out early morning light and limiting (or blocking) blue light from devices after the sun has gone down.
Stress Management
Managing stress is essential year-round but becomes particularly vital during fall when seasonal changes and busy schedules can have us feeling run down. Practice mindfulness techniques like meditation or breathwork to reduce stress levels – your health depends on it.
Lifestyle Changes
Lastly, create a nurturing environment at home by decluttering spaces to reduce allergens and irritants, and by removing toxins from your cleaning and personal care products. Make it fun by adding plants to improve indoor air quality and generally bring up the vibes of your surroundings.
(Psst — want to dive deep into how things like diet, exercise, sleep, stress management, and external changes impact our overall health? Learn more about Dr. Neal’s Wellness Pyramid — and how these 5 lifestyle domains factor into wellness — right here.)
2. Stay Consistent with Your Healthy Choices
Staying the course is key when it comes to maintaining your health during cold and flu season. We’re not saying you can’t enjoy the occasional pumpkin spice latte or spiked apple cider, but just to remember that both moderation and consistency are the two pillars of good health.
By maintaining consistency in your day-to-day wellness practices, you’re investing in your health for the long term. Small, daily habits add up over time, helping you build resilience against seasonal illnesses and feel your best year-round.
So, as cold and flu cases ramp up, be sure to stay consistent:
- Don’t just do your wellness practices here and there, do them every week.
- Don’t just take your supplements willy-nilly, take them every day.
Especially when it comes to supplements. Why? Because the supplements we rely on as modern people work best when they’re supplementing a healthy lifestyle. Sorry to say, but no amount of omega-3 capsules can outweigh a nutritionally bankrupt diet!
Supplements that can boost our immune system and make us less susceptible to illness — like a high-quality probiotic — also work cumulatively. Which means that, unfortunately, you can’t just take one, singular probiotic and expect your immune system to become superhuman.
Remaining consistent with your supplements (and your wellness practices!) is a core facet of strategic supplementation and staying healthy this fall. Our advice – set a daily routine for taking supplements, such as with breakfast or before bed, so you don’t forget.
Learn More: Seasonal Vaccination: When Should You Get Your Vaccines in 2024?
3. Encourage Management to Host a Workplace Vaccination Event
Realistically, you can’t be sure that each and every one of your coworkers will get their flu vaccine before flu season. That is unless you want to schedule their appointments and drive them there personally — which isn’t sustainable for most people.
So why not bring the vaccine clinic to them?
Encouraging vaccination among coworkers is a proactive step toward protecting the entire workplace community from seasonal illnesses like the flu. Hence why workplace vaccination clinics have become increasingly popular as modern professionals are allotted less and less time to prioritize their health.
Hosting a workplace vaccination event can streamline the process for your colleagues, making it easier for them to safeguard their wellness even with busy schedules.
And before you write it off as a whole hullabaloo, remember that these kinds of events require virtually nothing from your team if you work with a professional, credentialed provider.
(Not to toot our own horns, but the Village Apothecary team has successfully hosted hundreds of remote or on-site clinics for the professionals in our region. And after administering literally 70,000+ COVID-19 vaccinations, we know it’s possible to make vaccination events efficient, unobtrusive, and dare we say, even enjoyable.)
Learn More: Why Get Vaccinated at Work? FAQs for Employees
Stay Cozy, Stay Healthy, and Stay Ahead of the Flu
Now that you’re equipped with Dr. Neal’s top tips and ready to tackle cold and flu season with a proactive spirit, autumn doesn’t seem so scary, does it?
Keep these tools in your back pocket and get the ball rolling on the workplace vaccine clinic that could just change the game for you and your coworkers. By doubling down on your wellness practices and making vaccinations convenient, you’re not just dodging colds and flu — you’re setting a trend in workplace wellness.
Need more direction? Talk to our team today about bringing the vaccine clinic to your office and together, we’ll make this season a healthy and productive one.
