With most states and countries ordering people to stay home to stop the spread of COVID-19, people are feeling the challenge to stay healthy. Within the confines of a restricted space, and with comparably limited resources, our wellspring of creativity and ingenuity comes in handy.
This article will discuss ways to maintain physical and mental health when your area of residence is in lockdown and you are forced to stay indoors because of the coronavirus.
Follow these tips on how to stay healthy when you have to stay home:
Physical health
Physical health is not merely the absence of disease. It also means your body is functioning at its peak and has a strong immune system that can protect it against diseases like the COVID-19. Exercise, a balanced diet, and adequate and restful sleep are essential to keeping physically healthy.
Being cooped in your house is not an excuse to forego regular exercise. Avoid sitting for hours, even if you’re working from home. Activities like watching TV, reading, playing video games or being on social media are conducive to prolonged sitting.
Here are ways to keep your body moving:
Walk around the house or in the backyard, do some stretching, or go up and down the stairs repeatedly.
Take out those exercise equipment that’s been gathering dust and actually use them. You can work out on your treadmill, bike or rowing machine while watching TV or listening to music.
Follow online exercise regimens or classes on video. It’s the next best thing to working out in a gym with your gym buddies.
For a nutritious and balanced diet:
Buy fresh fruits and veggies so you don’t eat canned goods all the time, then store them properly. Hard, sturdy veggies like carrots, potatoes, yams, and squash can last for 1-3 weeks in cool room temperature. Store rinsed leafy veggies in the fridge.
Cut down on chips and sweets as they contain large amounts of sugar, salt and trans fat.
Get 7-9 hours of restful sleep each night. Sleep recharges your body and mind for the next day, boosts your immune system to fight off chronic and acute diseases, including COVID-19. It also helps in stress management.
Have a deep and sound sleep with these tips:
Maintain a regular schedule for sleeping and waking up.
Have a comfortable mattress and pillows.
Avoid exciting activities before bedtime, such as watching thriller films.
Use dim lights in your room.
Mental health
The coronavirus crisis has put a burden on people’s mental health. We all have to deal with the fear of contracting the dreaded COVID-19 or coping with the knowledge that family and friends are exposed to it, or even having it. Then there’s the economic and financial aftermath and the uncertainty of employment.
Stress, anxiety, helplessness, irritability, thoughts of suicide, and psychosomatic ailments are common at this time of unknowing and insecurity. These coping methods can calm you and give you a clearer sense of direction and options.
Meditate.
The practice of meditation brings your focus to the present and enhances your awareness of the people and surroundings you are in, in a nonjudgmental way. There’s something to be said about sitting still and in silence for 20 or so minutes daily. It’s calm-inducing and ego-busting, and it builds empathy, compassion and gratitude in you, traits that are good to have in normal times and even more so with the coronavirus scare.
Limit your time watching videos or reading news about COVID-19.
They are alarming even if factual. Stay away from social media. They are filled with fake news, stories and cures for the coronavirus disease, and only serve to contribute to the general feelings of anxiety.
Continue social connections while maintaining physical distancing.
Chat with friends and colleagues whom you trust using the various messaging apps.
Pray.
Prayer, whatever your faith is, keeps you grounded. It reminds you that there is a higher being and that you cannot control everything. When you acknowledge this reality, you attain true serenity and humility.
Staying home may not be normal for you but don’t give in to the dangers of physical inactivity and an overactive mind. Everyone can stay healthy even while stuck at home.
