Home LivingWellnessSleep6 tips to help you sleep better with a coldHow to get quality sleep when you’re suffering with the flu or coldWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Home LivingWellnessSleep6 tips to help you sleep better with a coldHow to get quality sleep when you’re suffering with the flu or coldWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
How to get quality sleep when you’re suffering with the flu or cold
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels)
(Image credit: Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels)
It’s that time of year where the common cold and flu are running wild, and it seems like everyone is either sniffling or coughing, so we’re all bound to get sick at some point! Cold and flu symptoms are uncomfortable to deal with throughout the day but they can also plague your sleep, with the main perpetrators being congestion, muscle pain, headaches and coughing.
Sleeping can be extremely challenging when you have a cold, but getting a quality night’s sleep is one of the best ways to recover. So, if you’re suffering from the common cold and finding it hard to get some much needed shut eye, here are 6 ways to help you sleep better and get over a cold quicker.
It’s worth keeping in mind that you can take medicine before bed to help you sleep better and ease your cold symptoms, but the following tips cover non-medicinal ways you can use to drift off easier.
1. Have a cup of tea before bed
When it comes to colds and flu, drinking warm liquids can help soothe sore throats and the steam helps open your airways and ease congestion. Of course, you don’t want to have a hit of caffeine before you go to sleep, so it’s important to pick teas that are decaffeinated and are known for their health remedies – see7 teas to help you sleep betterfor our top picks. If you’re not a fan of tea, having hot water with honey and lemon is the best choice for fighting infections and helping you wind down before bed.
(Image credit: Vicks)
(Image credit: Vicks)
2. Steam your face
3. Keep your head elevated
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4. Try a saline solution
There are a couple of ways a saline solution or rinse eases cold symptoms. First, mix a ½ or ¼ teaspoon of salt with 8 ounces of warm water and once it dissolves, gargle it in the back of your throat for as long as you can stand it before spitting it out. According toHealthline, this is a great natural low-cost way to soothe sore throats and prevent infections from getting worse.
If you’d prefer a different approach, you can try a saline nasal rinse to flush out your nasal passages to clear out germs and improve your breathing. This technique is slightly trickier as you’ll need a squeeze bottle or neti pot and sterile distilled water to avoid further infections, so we encourage you to seek advice from a health professional on how best to do this.
(Image credit: Pavel Danilyuk / Pexels)
(Image credit: Pavel Danilyuk / Pexels)
5. Purify the air
6. Change your bed sheets
Similar to cleansing the air around you, you should also change your bed sheets to avoid prolonging your illness. Sleeping in dirty sheets isn’t hygienic and if you’re suffering from a cold, all this bacteria will collect in your sheets which can make you feel sick for longer – seewhat happens when you don’t wash your sheetsif you don’t believe us. As soon as you start to feel better, change your bed sheets to fresh linens. Thebest sheetswill not only feel nicer on the skin, but they get rid of any germs and smells that have been trapped in your bed, which helps you avoid the risk of getting sick again.
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