Doctor's orders: Ward off fall colds, flu

We love fall: crisp days, chilly nights (chilly enough for chili), the beginning of basketball (hey, it could happen), the end of reruns and tackling all those projects we never touched last summer. There's just one spoiler: colds and flu. They're back.

Your flu shot (you got yours, right?) will help keep you from going down for the count. It's 60 percent to 70 percent effective -- if only we had that protection for colds. Is there anything else you can do? You bet. In addition to washing your hands 20 times a day (a great start), these two tips can make a mega-difference:

1. Get enough of our fave vitamin, D-3 (the most active form of D). Healthy levels make you half as likely to get a cold or flu. If a flu bug gets you 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.

2. Get your eight hours a night. Sleep may be the most underestimated cold fighter out there. You'll catch far fewer colds if you habitually log eight hours of ZZZs a night. Getting less than seven hours makes you three times more likely catch a cold than getting eight. And if you sleep poorly, repeatedly waking and falling off, you're five times more likely to catch a cold.

Doctors' orders: Go to bed. Don't we give you great advice in perfect fall sleeping weather?