Sleep

Sleep is very important in order to live a healthy lifestyle. A regular sleep schedule regulates your metabolism and also helps regulate your weight. Those who have a regular sleep schedule tend to be healthier than those who are sleep deprived. When sleep deprived, your body craves sugars and such to boost your energy levels. Also, when tired you tend to make poor eating choices. So, REGULATE YOUR SLEEP SCHEDULE AND GET AN ADEQUATE AMOUNT OF SLEEP. Trust me, you won't regret it.

Sicknesses

So, the week of my ankle injury I was fighting a flu bug. Now, a week after my injury I am fighting a bad cold. Needless to say, these last two weeks have not been the greatest, but what can you expect during cold and flu season, right?
Taking care of your body and your immune system is a must, but it is even more important during cold and flu season. Below is a list of tips I found on myclevelandclinic.org that will aid in sickness prevention this season.

• "Consider taking a multivitamin — one half in the morning, the other half with dinner. 
• Be sure you’re getting enough vitamin D. (Ask your doctor to check your vitamin D levels using the 25(OH)D3 test.) Most people living north of Atlanta need 1,000 IU per day.  
• Wash your hands with soap and water thoroughly — and often.  
• Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer only if soap and water are not available. Avoid touching your face, especially your eyes, nose and mouth.  
• Eat a diet rich in colorful foods to ensure you’re getting antioxidants. 
• Use nasal irrigation products (a Neti pot, for example), which can be found in drugstores. Because they help wash pollutants out of the nasal tissues, they may be beneficial.  
• Get a good night’s rest. Sleep is important to maintaining a healthy immune system."

Injuries

I had my first big injury in my roller derby career last week. I fell wrong on my skates and landed on my left ankle, resulting in a trip to the ER for me! Luckily I just ended up with a bad sprain, not a break or a fracture at all.  I've been on crutches and had my foot in a big black boot since, but it gives me a great topic to discuss.
INJURIES. No matter how extra careful you try to be, there will always be a time where you can't avoid the fate and you get hurt. PAIN. Take a second and thank whomever you believe in that you can feel pain. If you weren't able to then you'd be dead, and that isn't the ideal state. When I fell on my ankle, it felt like little pin needles were poking me over and over everywhere from the tips of my toes all the way up to my to my knee. I also had shooting pains in my calve. In that moment, I thought I was dying. Yes, that's a huge exaggeration but the pain was AWFUL. My teammates took my skate off of my foot and I tried to hop up and act like a tough kid. I couldn't walk on it and had to hop off of the rink. My coach was waiting with two icepacks for me and advised me to go to the hospital and have it checked out. When you have a sudden injury, make sure to ice it right away to help with swelling.
PAIN MEDICINE. Now, take another second to thank whomever created pain medicine. I don't believe I would have been able to make it through the last week without them. Whenever you are hurt, go to the doctor and have them write you a prescription for their recommendation of medicine to help with your pain. Don't be afraid to go to the doctor either. One injury that you think is small could actually be MUCH worse.
ROUTINE. Follow the routine that your doctor, or in my case the ER nurse, gives you to care for your injury. I was on bedrest for 3 days after my injury. I wasn't able to walk at all and my instructions were to apply heat to my ankle for 1 hour and then switch to an icepack for 30 minutes, alternating the two all day long. I was instructed to use my crutches for as long as needed and I have to keep my boot on for at least two more weeks until my ankle is fully healed.

When injured make sure to seek medical help if necessary, get some type of medicine to help with your pain, and follow instructions and care routines provided to you. Also, don't try to rush your recovery because it could result in hurting yourself more.