Ever have one of those months when everything is being thrown your way, responsibilities keep piling up, sleep becomes a luxury, and you live each minute staring down the clock? Yeah, it's been one of those. I was recently asked to fill in at another location for two weeks while a coworker was taking some time off, and I really had no idea what I was getting myself into.

The location where I was working is located almost 1.5 hours away, and my starting time was 7:30 am. This meant I had to wake up at 4:30 am every morning, which meant I had to wake Charlotte up around that time to get her ready for the day. I don't know if you've ever dealt with a cranky 3 year old at the break of dawn, but I wouldn't recommend it. I knew, with the commute time, that I wasn't going to be getting much sleep while working out there. I also know that I'm the kind of person who only gets sick when I'm running low on rest. It never fails, I go 3 days without getting 7-8 hours of sleep, and a cold will find me. I'll end up with a sore throat, running nose, cough, achy neck and shoulders, watery eyes, you name it. I needed a game plan to make sure that didn't happen this time around. So what did I do? Here are my top 6 things to keep myself healthy when sleep is a challenge.

Hydrate. I made sure to drink lots of extra water. Dehydration can lead to fatigue and exhaustion, both of which I already know allow me to get sick, so hydration was top priority. I kept my glass jar full of water all day every day and made sure my urine was nice light straw color. Yes, it's very important to pay attention to the color of your pee. Once it gets to a bright yellow, you're already becoming dehydrated. So drink, drink, drink! And I don't mean soda. If you don't like the taste of water, add lemon or lime, orange slices, herbs, berries... anything to give it a taste you enjoy and will want to consume.

Lots and lots of plant foods. This may come as a surprise to anyone who takes the TV's opinion into account when figuring out what to make for dinner, but what you eat MATTERS. This analogy gets thrown around a lot, but think of your body as a finely tuned sports car. Are you going to fill it up at the local Swifty station with the cheapest gas possible? Doubtful. Well, why would you fuel your own finely tuned body with the nutritional equivalent of cheap, questionable-quality fuel? And the highest quality, most nutrient-dense foods are plants. Studies have shown how body alkalinity may affect development of disease, even prevention of muscle and bone loss in the elderly, and plants are the most alkaline foods we can eat. (The Alkaline Diet: Is there evidence that an alkaline ph diet benefits health?) When you body is fueled with the proper nutrients, it's prepared for an attack should one arise. When I'm forced to function on low quality sleep, I damn sure make clean, high quality food a priority. So, when I was working in BFE and running on 5-6 hours of sleep per night, I made a giant green smoothie for breakfast, full of mineral-rich greens, omega 3 fats (which fight inflammation) from flax and chia seeds, plus lots of berries, which are high in antioxidants. I would add large handfuls of spinach and kale, sometimes even adding a whole zucchini. Smoothies are awesome for on-the-go nutrient-dense meals. For lunch some days, I made a large salad, packed with veggies, and a homemade dressing with raw apple cider vinegar or lemon juice, both of which are good for boosting immunity. Other days, I mixed up a batch of guacamole with tons of lime juice, garlic, onions, and cilantro, some of my favorite immunity boosting ingredients. Did you know that onions contain more selenium, an immune system stimulating nutrient, than any other vegetable? (Are onions good for your immune system?) Yep! And garlic is my go-to for anything sickness related. I've been known to eat whole raw cloves of it when I feel a sore throat coming on. It's known to contain over 100 sulfuric compounds making it great for fighting bacteria and infection. (Garlic: An immunity boosting superstar.) Cilantro is a good detoxifier, known to aid in elimination of heavy metals from the body. See, and you thought guacamole just tasted great. ;-) On the days that I packed guac, instead of having it with chips, I'd bring slices of cucumber and red bell pepper to dip in it, since they supplied more of those much-needed vitamins and minerals. My snacks consisted of whole fruit, like bananas and grapes, plus some toasted seaweed snacks. For dinner, I was having beans, grains, and vegetables or a huge salad, depending on my mood. As the amazing Ann Wigmore said, "The food you eat can either be the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison." We must take care of our vessel. I live by this quote 99% of the time, but especially when my immune system is compromised.

Immune Support. Instead of drinking plain water, I would add 3-4 drops of lemon essential oil to my jar every time I refilled it. Lemon is high in vitamin C, and we all know vitamin C is important for immune health. A study published in the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis found that lemons have excellent antioxidant properties due to unique flavonoid compounds. "Lemons, as well as other citrus fruits, contain a dominant flavonoid class called flavanones, such as hesperidin and eriocitrin. These nutrients are found to have anti-inflammatory and free-radical quenching properties." (Mercola) I would also switch it up and use other citrus oils on occasion, such as lime, wild orange, or grapefruit. Since not everyone uses essential oils, you could also squeeze the juice from any of these fruits into your water. Although not as concentrated, they'll still offer benefits to the immune system. Aside from citrus oils, I also would add a drop of On-Guard from DoTerra to my water a couple of times per day. On Guard is a proprietary blend of wild orange peel, clove bud, cinnamon bark, eucalyptus leaf, and rosemary leaf/flower. Why these oils? Well, wild orange oil is considered to be high in antioxidants, as well as a powerful cleansing agent. Clove oil is beneficial for boosting the immune system due to its antiviral properties. Cinnamon bark oil is shown to have antifungal, antiviral, antibacterial, and antiseptic properties, making it great for use with internal or external infections. (Apparently, cinnamon bark oil is the anti-everything.) According to an article at Mercola.com, "the diluted form of eucalyptus oil is taken orally for pain and inflammation of respiratory tract mucous membranes, coughs, asthma, bronchitis, sinus pain and inflammation, and respiratory infections." And, according to a 2007 study, "inhaling rosemary and lavender oils for five minutes significantly reduced cortisol levels in the subjects' saliva, potentially decreasing the dangers of chronic stress," as well as "free radical-scavenging activity in the subjects' bodies also significantly increased." I use On Guard as a natural immune system support measure, and since I began using it, I've yet to get sick.

(Disclaimer: I am a DoTerra representative, and I mention use of DoTerra essential oils in this post. I do make commission from sale of these products, however, my opinions are my own. There are many essential oil companies on the market, but if you'd like more info about the specific brand I mention, I'm happy to help. My main goal is to offer health advice. Wherever you choose to buy your essential oils, I just hope to educate people of the many benefits they offer.)

Stress reduction. I know how tough this one can be when it feels like there aren't enough hours in the day, and trust me, I'm not very good at it. But, I do my best in these situations. I maintained a practice of deep-breathing and meditation whenever I got the chance. Even stopping and counting breaths for a minute helps me to calm my mind. In the free moments between customers, I would just pause and close my eyes, listen to the birds chirping outside, and take a deep breath, then slowly let it out. You'd be amazed what a difference it can make.

Sleep whenever possible. I was fortunate that the two weeks of hell came with the Labor Day holiday. I spent the weekend with family near Knoxville, and didn't get much rest. And I'm sure that accidentally running almost 6 miles on that Sunday didn't help my exhaustion. (Yes, you can accidentally run 6 miles.) But when Monday rolled around, I was home without much to do. My husbands family was visiting, so I took Charlotte to the in-laws' house to play, and ended up passing out in a chair for THREE HOURS! I felt a little guilty for wasting the middle of the day, but I felt so refreshed afterward. I really doubt I'd have made it through the following 5 days of work without that ridiculously long nap. I think my body was just DONE. On the days when a nap wasn't in order, I did my best to get in bed as early as possible, which usually left me getting 6.5 hours of sleep, which is still not enough for me, but every little bit helped. Even laying down and closing my eyes for 20 minutes after work made tremendous difference to the rest of my day.

Exercise. This kind of goes along with the sleep section, but I would work out in the evenings pretty intensely so that I was exhausted when my head hit the pillow. I always get my best rest after a good workout, so I make sure to get out and move my body as many nights as possible, and I maintained that routine even after working 12 hour days. I won't say it was easy, but I was lucky to have a friend joining me and encouraging me to keep going. It's been shown that exercise, even just walking, can have positive effects on the immune system. It helps the body fight infection, flush toxins, and slow the release of stress hormones which can make a person vulnerable to illness. If you can find an accountability partner for workouts, do it. If not for Jackie Rae, I probably would've been super lazy during those two weeks. But she wouldn't let me, and I'm so thankful for that.

It may seem like a lot to think about, but it's really not hard once you develop a healthy lifestyle. I hope that these steps can help you avoid a health breakdown next time your life gets in the way of your routine. Now is the best time to implement some of these suggestions so that your body is ready to go to battle for the coming cold and flu season, too.