Sick Day Routine — Feel better physically & mentally

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Everybody’s been in this predicament. You need a sick day routine.

Long story short, I went to a food festival last weekend, never mind the fact that it was windy, rainy, and quite chilly for Hawaii’s standards. I be like, “I never get sick.”

Yeah, well, you can see how that turned out.

I’m one whose brain never stops turning, even when my body is retaliating against me. So while I was lying on the couch, barely able to keep my eyelids from drooping and obstructing my view of the TV, my mind was twirling through space with all ideas for new content… many of which never made it to a piece of paper because my hand wouldn’t cooperate, but that’s another story.

The one that stuck, (go figure,) was the idea to do my version of a sick day routine, although it’s not really a routine in the sense that you have to do these things in a particular order.

This is what I do when I have an entire day to relax and focus on myself. I may not be 100% back to my normal self after just one day, but doing these things really helps me to feel like I can tackle the world again much quicker.

Let’s get started with my comfortable-at-home sick day routine!

Let’s talk about what I eat when I’m sick

The first thing I want to do in the morning when I’m sick is get that nasty sick taste out of my mouth. For some reason no amount of brushing or mouthwash seems to alleviate it. Only the right food does the trick.

Bananas are one of my favorites because they are sweet, but not sickly sweet. They’re soft and easily digestible, plus they’re filled with nutrients to give your body the support it needs. I probably slice bananas with a butter knife like this six times a day.

If I’m not snacking on a banana and I want something a bit more substantial, I like to have oatmeal. I top it with soy milk, berries, and you guessed it, more bananas.

Although I do like soup, the hard truth is that I am just not going to prepare myself a healthy pot of fresh homemade soup when I barely want to get up off the couch. Unless someone cooks and delivers the soup to the living room coffee table, I’m not having any.

That leaves me with canned soup. Unfortunately, the stuff is filled with preservatives, atrocious amounts of sodium, and other odd ingredients that I don’t fully understand. For that reason, I try to stick with oatmeal as much as my tastebuds will allow.

No sick day routine is complete without self pampering

There is no better time to pamper yourself than when you’re spending the day at home. I like doing all the relaxing, self indulging things that often get pushed to the wayside when I am going about my regular routine and trying to get things done.

I like to use my Mint Julep Masque because the minty scent wakes up my tired skin and makes me feel clean. When you are sick, you just feel gross no matter what you do. In addition to the good things a mask does for your skin, it also helps me to feel cleaner mentally. I know it’s all in my head, but still. Many of us associate minty scents with cleanliness thanks to toothpaste, so this mask is perfect to help you feel your best in a crappy situation.

If I’m up to it, I might also do things like give myself a pedicure and tweeze my eyebrows. Again, these are things I often skip when I’m busy. Overgrown eyebrows and chipping toenails make a girl feel icky even when she isn’t sick, let alone when she is.

Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque >> Purchase on Amazon

Tidy your environment a bit

Lying around and doing nothing all day isn’t good for you, physically or mentally. To combat the ongoing icky feeling, I like to do some light tidying, such as folding laundry.

I just plop down on the bedroom floor, put on some music or a Youtube video, and leisurely fold. Something about this is just super relaxing to me. I spend so much time thinking and planning, it’s nice to do something that doesn’t require any brainpower.

Plus, we all feel better when our environments are clean, am I right? If you tidy now, then when you feel better, you can get off to a fresh start without worrying about of the germy mess you left behind. It’ll make your recovery all that much sweeter.

Get some exercise in, gently.

I do not consider myself a professional yogi, but I do enjoy the benefits of yoga when I am feeling sick, anxious, or just need a little movement in my life.

These three simple yoga poses hardly require any effort, yet they really help to relax your muscles and facilitate proper alignment.

First, I do some forward folds. I tend to collect tension in my shoulders and neck area. This posture along with systematic breathing helps me stretch the tension away. You don’t have to be completely folded over. Just reach as far past your toes as you can, trying to reach a little farther with each exhale.

Pidgeon pose is one of my favorite relaxing poses. I like it so much I’ll actually do this one when I’m lying on the floor working on my laptop. It’s a great hip opener, which is a trouble spot for a lot of people. All you have to do is bring one knee in front of you and hook your foot back toward your opposite hip, and extend the other leg out behind you. This may be enough of a stretch already, but if it’s comfortable for you, it feels great to lay your torso down and rest your forehead on your hands like I am above. I can stay like this for hours. (Almost, haha.)

Finally, I do the almighty Child’s pose. This is probably the most well known yoga pose of them all, but it really is so comforting and relaxing. This always makes me feel better, no matter what is going on. I’ve been known to fall asleep like this.

Write out your frustrations

Being sick is frustrating as hell. With your body refusing to cooperate, sometimes the best thing you can do is allow your mind to air its grievances as part of your sick day routine.

Once I’ve finished cleaning and got a little movement in, I like to sit with a cup of tea, my essential box of tissue, and my handy little notebook. It’s kind of like a journal in a way. I like writing down whatever comes to mind, regardless of whether I intend on making something of it.

I write down my weirdo dreams, things I notice when I look out the window, a funny quote I heard someone say, and anything really.

In addition to the practical application of keeping myself stocked with content ideas, it also helps keep my brain spinning so that I don’t stagnate and run out of ideas. It’s my defense against writers block, and I find what when my body isn’t up to par is precisely when my mind wants to run.

Shop my favorite notebooks >> Fringe Studio Hello Beautiful Faux Leather Journal

Shop my favorite pens >> Staedtler Triplus Fineliner 0.3 mm

So what’s the takeaway?

Being sick is no fun, and you might feel like just curling up and napping all day, but there are things you can do to feel better faster. I hope you enjoyed a peek into my sick day activities, and hopefully this inspires you to be proactive in feeling well again.

Do you have your own sick day routine that makes you feel better? I’d love to hear about it!

That’s all for today!

Like this post on my sick day routine? You’ll probably like this routine too >> Morning Routine For Happy, Productive, & Beautiful Days

If you find this post interesting, informative, or just plain entertaining, tell me about it in the comments below! And don’t forget, sharing is caring. Share this post!

Till next time. ♥︎

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FTC- This post is not sponsored by any brands mentioned. I purchase all products myself. All opinions are my own. Some links may be affiliated.