two days. It also made symptoms 34% less severe.
4. Rest up.
Believe it or not, if you feel overworked, stressed out, sad, angry – those emotions can slow your immune system, making you vulnerable to catching a cold AND powerless against fighting its total body terror.
Listen to your body. Put your feet up and get all the sleep you need.
Refusing to do so could result in a simple cold turning into something far worse, like bronchitis — inflammation of the lining of bronchial tubes, which carry air to and from the lungs.
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5. Exercise regularly.
On the flip side, exercise may be just as vital to preventing and curing a cold as kicking your feet up.
To determine if exercise while sick is safe to do, Dr. Richard Besser recommends using the “neck rule,” meaning if you have symptoms like a stuffy/runny nose, sneezing or sinus pressure – symptoms above the neck – working out shouldn’t hurt and will likely help.
Exercise gets your heart pumping, more oxygen flowing and helps the body up to its natural virus-fighting abilities.