Stay Well: Use These Two "Secret" Cold and Flu Fighters

Determined not to get sick this winter? You've already stocked up on hand sanitizer and long since gotten your flu shot. Right? Both will help you stay well instead of going down for the count. The flu vaccine alone is 60% to 70% effective. If only we had that kind of protection for colds!

Is there anything else you can do as this year's bugs start invading offices, groceries, classrooms, book clubs, and football stadiums? You bet. In addition to washing your hands 20 times a day (a great start), these two simple tips can make a mega-difference.

1. Get enough of Dr. Oz's favorite vitamin, D3. Healthy levels of vitamin D3 (the most active form of vitamin D) make you half as likely to get a cold or flu. If a flu bug gets ya anyway (viruses are wily buggers), you won't feel crummy for nearly as long. Why isn't yet clear, but D's anti-inflammation powers may reduce the infection. Take 1,000 IU a day. (Find out the best time for you to take vitamin D.
2. Take Dr. Roizen's advice and get 8 hours a night, every night. Sleep may be the most underestimated cold fighter out there. You’ll catch far fewer colds if you habitually sleep well by logging a full 8 hours of ZZZs a night. Getting less than 7 hours makes you three times more likely to catch a cold than getting 8. And if you sleep poorly, repeatedly waking and drifting off, you’re five times more likely to catch a cold.

Doctor's orders: Go to bed.

Have trouble sleeping well? Take this test to pinpoint what's keeping you up.