Whenever 2020 is going to be mentioned, the first thing that is meant to come to everybody’s mind is the Coronavirus and how you have dealt with it. Living for weeks and months inside the house is not easy especially for people who like to be social or like to adventure. Hence, you need to be engaged in various sorts of healthy activities every day so that the health at home does not get affected. Moreover, the lockdown shouldn’t take a toll on you physically and mentally.
Here are different ways to help you:
1. Sleep early and Wake up early
This turns out as one of my personal experiences. This is why, this is, the first one on my list. This is also one of the most underrated tasks as hardly anyone cares to wake up this early for the purpose of good health.
Before my medical school had begun, I had a few months of vacation. During those days, I would make sure to stay awake until 3 am to 4 am. I would wake up around 12 pm or sometime past noon. This habit had followed me throughout my 1st year. As a result, my body suffered from weight loss. I felt more lethargic and inactive most of the day and I started procrastinating things a lot. It had also affected my studies.
Studying physiology taught me how important our circadian rhythm (biological cycle) was in relation to the 24-hour cycle of the earth. Studies have shown that the morning light can synchronize circadian rhythm by regulating the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus to the 24-hour cycle of the earth. Without this synchronization, your body is eventually going to suffer from fatigue, loss of appetite, and other GIT problems, impaired alertness to surroundings, etc. Sleeping early and waking up early but with the right amount of sleep for 6-8 hours a day will surely lead you to a more productive life by staying healthy at home.
Since then, I have endeavored to sleep early and wake up early in the morning and it has improved my activity and performance significantly.
2. Eat healthy and stay hydrated
Green leafy vegetables must be consumed almost every day. It gives you many vitamins and minerals including folic acid supplements. Folic acid is required for the synthesis of DNA and RNA in your body.
Several fruit and vegetables contain Vitamin C. Vitamin C is known to be a powerful natural antioxidant that helps you remove free radicals and other toxins from your body.
Nuts and almonds are also an important source of essential minerals that contain magnesium, calcium, zinc, selenium, etc. that help in detoxification of your body and are proved to be viable for your health.
With all the food, it is an utmost responsibility to drink 1-2 liters of water every day. Drinking enough water can help you in several ways like
- Improves healthy skin
- Alleviates mood
- Decrease stress
- Helps to clean gut
- Improves kidney function
- Helps in synthesis of saliva and mucus
- Detoxification of body
- It regulates body temperature and many more
3. Physical Fitness
Staying in your house for most of the day is going to cost you the physical activity that you had when you went out for your work. Therefore, even though if you are eating healthy, it won’t help you much if you sit or rest the whole day.
Take 30 minutes to 1 hour of your schedule and exercise. It does not matter what kind of exercise you choose like:
- Weightlifting
- Yoga
- Cardio
- HIIT
- Pilates
- Walking
- Stretching
- Dancing, etc. or any other activity as long as you are burning calories.
This will help you to stay healthy at home most of the day, boost your immunity and help you stay motivated for the rest of the day.
4. Stay engaged in daily chores or create new ones
The physical and mental relationship of your body goes hand to hand. If one has tampered, the other one is also disturbed which results in health issues.
Make a schedule or to-do list of things you want to do or learn, define a time period for each of the tasks, and perform them. These tasks could be as normal as cooking, gardening to learning a new language, programming, enrolling in an online course, etc. If you get bored, create a new one and executing it. Stay engaged in all these activities as it will help you to stay fresh and active physically and mentally.
5. Enjoy every moment with ‘yourself’ and with your family
Living inside your house with not much of work for weeks and months amidst COVID-19 is tough. People all around the world might be suffering unemployment, financial loss, fear from Corona, etc. Hence, it’s no wonder that you might be having stress and anxiety about this situation.
Some people would try to reach for unprescribed drugs or alcohol to help alleviate stress and anxiety. They might feel better for a while, but they are also inviting dozens of other harmful health issues hence I would not recommend it.
To help control your emotions and anxiety, you can start performing breathing exercises and meditation. These relaxation techniques performed in the midst of green nature or fresh air in the early morning will surely help you to calm your mind and heart and have a peaceful spirit. Give yourself a break and enjoy time with family so that you and your family can stay healthy at home.
6. Prevention of COVID-19
- Clean your hands often. Use soap and water, or an alcohol-based hand rub.
- Maintain a safe distance from anyone who is coughing or sneezing.
- Don’t touch your eyes, nose, or mouth.
- Cover your nose and mouth with your bent elbow or a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
- Stay home if you feel unwell.
- If you have a fever, a cough, and difficulty breathing, seek medical attention. Call in advance.
- Follow the directions of your local health authority.
All the above information is very important in maintaining a good and healthy at home lifestyle. This not only helps in developing oneself physically and mentally but it is also a good initiative in keeping a safe distance from COVID-19. For more information on COVID-19, visit the WHO website: https://www.who.int/
Good Job Aashray