Four ways to keep yourself healthy and panic-free

Eat well to support your immune system. Photo by Anna Pelzer on Unsplash

A few common sense ideas on how to help yourself and your family stay healthy and calm.
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1. Eat well to support your immune system

Your immune system is what keeps you healthy and able to fight off a virus.

A healthy digestive system keeps your immune system healthy.

Here are some simple, everyday things that you can do to help. To be honest we should all be doing these things all the time anyway!
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• Eat lots of fresh vegetables and fruit.
• Drink lots of water or herbal teas.
• Limit your sugar, caffeine and alcohol.

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2. Stay calm to support your immune system

You might have read my recent post about fight-flight versus rest & digest. It explained how stress affects your body.

When you're stressed your body goes into fight-flight mode.

It stops doing the things that aren't essential at that moment to keep you alive.

Digestion and immunity are two of the things that get 'turned off'.

​If you stay stressed or anxious, they stay turned off. So taking steps to avoid getting caught up in the current panic is really important. 

I know that this can be easier said than done.

If you haven't already done it now is a really good time to turn the news notifications off on your phone. It's also a good idea to avoid watching too much news, especially before bed.

If you are finding it hard to avoid getting caught up in the panic then you might want to try the homeobotanical blend I talk about below.

If you would like some ideas about how to move from the fight-flight panic mode to the rest and digest calm mode, here are some links you might like to check out and here.
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3. Sleep to support your immune system

I feel a bit like a broken record as I am always talking about the importance of sleep. But it's because it's true!

Sleep is when your body heals and restores itself.

I'm sure you are well aware that when you are anxious and worried it is much more difficult to get a good nights sleep.

I have shared lots of sleep tips in the past which you might like to remind yourself of here.

​The key thing to remember is that you need to help your body get ready for sleep. Here are a few things you can try adding to your evening:

• give yourself time to unwind before bed (and avoid watching the news during the evening).
• make sure your bedroom is a good place to sleep, keeping screens of any sort and work things out.
• make sure it's cool and dark - sleep masks can be a real help.

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4. Wash your hands (with cold-pressed soap) to support your immune system

This is probably the single most effective thing that you can do to prevent picking up any virus.

I've heard a few people comment that they don't need someone to tell them how to wash their hands!

However, there is a difference to washing your hands well enough to get rid of a virus and the quick 'soap and rinse' that most of us do most of the time. Me included.

I have definitely spent a lot more time in front of the sink than usual. I hope it is a habit that I will keep up.

A colleague of mine shared this short post on the importance of washing hands with proper cold-pressed soap to help prevent the spread of viral infections.

Fiona makes her own organic cold-pressed soap in Colchester which I have been using for years. I have some in stock if you are interested.

Do you feel like you need some more support?

You are not alone if you do feel like this. It is so easy to get caught up in the panic.

Today I made up an immune boosting, panic reducing blend of homeobotanicals. My family and I have just started to use it. 

It contains herbs such as echinacea and propolis that support your immune and help your body fight off viral infection. 

It also contains herbs such as scutellaria, avena sativa, peppermint and passiflora that restore a sense of calm and balance and support restful sleep. 

This blend is suitable for the whole family and is really easy to use.

Get in touch if you would like to find out more. :)

​Take care and look after yourself,

Sarah x