Tips On Staying Healthy Through The Holidays

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Tis the season for the flu, the cold, and just plain feeling run down.

So how do you stay healthy for the holidays? Navigating the crowds to get gifts and go to parties can be just as difficult as staying healthy as we head into the new year.

"It adds an added burden for people who really want to focus on wellness, which is to make sure you get the sleep you need," Dr. Steven Lamm said.

Lamm is the director of NYU Langone's Preston Robert Tisch Center for Men's Health. He says to get at least seven hours of sleep a night.

It's something New Yorkers and visitors alike admit is easier said than done.

"Don't drink too much and don't eat too much," Australian tourist Andrew Larkin said.

Doctors say to make time for yourself in the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping.

"It's important to build into every day something you do for yourself," Dr. Lamm said. "It can be listening to a book, it can be walking, it can be exercising."

You especially want to have a clear mind if you're doing last minute shopping. The reason, biology professor Dr. Miryam Wahrman says, is because germs are everywhere.

Dr. Wahrman and Dr. Corey Basch of William Paterson University recently conducted a study of germs at a New Jersey mall. Extra people means extra opportunities for catching something, especially with food vendors handling both money and food.

Dr. Basch said they saw "staggering" rates of non-glove use.

"97 percent of the time they are not doing what they're supposed to be doing with regard to hand hygiene," Dr. Wahrman said.

In addition to washing your hands regularly, doctors recommend vitamin C, probiotics, and CoQ10, a supplement. Regarding your emotional health, experts say don't be afraid to say "no" to invites. In a city like New York there's so much to do, but doctors say at the end of the day it's important to listen to your body, not your calendar.