Sick Day Essentials: Feeling Blue and Need a Sick Day? These Essentials Will Help

I never take sick days, y’all.

In elementary school, I was the weirdo with the perfect attendance awards. I simply needed to be there, and because of that, I came to school sick and grew up with the feeling of ‘FOMO.’ I was afraid of things happening without me, and therefore I showed up to school with pink eye and a runny nose. 

But that’s not healthy! When you’re sick, you need rest. You need to take care of your body. In 2020, one of my goals is to know when my body is run-down and to know when to rest. And yes, today is one of those days where I am not well. 

Thus, this post was born. 

When I get sick, sometimes I feel guilty for staying in bed. I also get bored. Yes, while my body needs rest and a nap sounds heavenly, but what about the times when I’m awake and can’t get to sleep because my nose is runny and congested and I can’t breathe?! I created some sick day essentials that you can do AND have, and hopefully, you can have a relaxing, restful sick day. 

Feel better, lovelies! 

1. First things first, medicine. 

Whether you have a cold, stomach bug, food poisoning, the flu, anything … get some medicine. Sometimes, rather most of the time, you probably should go to the doctor. But a common cold really just requires over-the-counter cold medicine (DayQuil is my fav), rest, and a whole lotta fluids. 

2. Cozy and clean pajamas. 

There’s nothing better than slipping into fresh, warm, clean, cozy pajamas that came straight from the dryer. Trust me when I say this, you’ll feel a whole lot better if you wash your pajamas. (They probably need it.) In addition to clean pajamas, wash your sheets. Slipping into clean sheets will just melt you into a restful sleep. 

3. Lots of fluids, girl. 

Water? Who is she, I don’t even know her. I strictly drink coffee. (I say as I write this post and drink coffee.) DRINK WATER. Even if you’re not sick and reading this post, drink the water. Like, there’s really nothing else to say. You should be drinking water, especially if you’re sick. 

4. Load up that Netflix queue. 

Moving on from the obvious. When you’re sick, sometimes all you can do is just stay in bed. When you’re not napping, turn on Netflix (or Hulu, Disney+, Apple TV+, YouTube, etc.) and watch that show that you’ve been putting off watching or that show that makes you feel good. I honestly recommend putting on a show that makes you feel good because when you’re sick, you just feel icky and maybe guilty for staying home from work or school, and sometimes you just need a good laugh to make you feel better. For me, New Girl, Gossip Girl, Grey’s Anatomy (lol), or Gilmore Girls are my go-tos.

5. Soup. (And other hot and soothing foods.) 

Who’s a big soul gal? Not me. Honestly, it’s one of my least favorite foods. But good ole fashioned chicken noodle soup will soothe your throat. Other sick day foods that help me are mac and cheese, oatmeal, and yogurt. Chinese food also helps, but I’m a weirdo. (Actually, spicy foods helps with congestion. So go ahead and order that spicy chicken from the Chinese food place down the street.) 

6. Books.

Is your TBR list piling up? Take this sick day to tackle some reading. Sometimes TV or YouTube can get boring. Dive into some books!

7. Sleep. 

I think I’ve made this pretty clear throughout this post, but I cannot stress it enough. Get some sleep. When working a 9-5, you have to get up at a reasonable time and email your boss, but after that, go back to sleep. If you can’t, just stay in bed. You might be feeling better if you’re staying in bed, so that might make you guilty for calling out, but think about the other option: you could go into work or school and feel TERRIBLE and wish you were at home in your bed with your clean pajamas and bed sheets. Use this time to get better, even if you feel better two hours into the morning. Rest and relaxation is the best prescribed medicine.