Times are tough right now, there are no two ways about it. Coronavirus is affecting everyone even if they haven’t directly had the virus. People are being asked to remain at home when they can, and most people are doing this. We should only be leaving the house if we need to (e.g. we are a health worker and need to work or we need to go food shopping). But staying at home does come with its challenges.
Plenty of people will be suffering from cabin fever right now and will have their noses pressed up to a window longing for an adventure. But there’s a very good reason for why we are being asked to stay at home, and that is so we don’t risk our health by getting this virus. Although staying at home does come with its own set of challenges, your own health might suffer from staying in your own home for too long. So, with that in mind, here are some tips for staying healthy and happy during this time.
Limit Your Time Outside
You obviously can’t stay indoors the entire time. People still need to go out food shopping (if they can’t get an online delivery) and people are still allowed to go outside to do some exercise. However, there are precautions that must be taken if you are planning on going outside. You should make sure that you distance yourself from others around you (unless you go out with people from your household), you should make sure to wash your hands every time you enter and leave a building (or use Hand Sanitizer) and you should never just go outside because you are bored and want to sunbathe in your local park.
When you go outside, you can help yourself by wearing a mask. The CDC recommends wearing cloth face-covering in public settings where social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g. food shopping and pharmacies). Wearing a face mask is more about protecting others from your respiratory droplets than it is about protecting yourself. However, taking all these measures such as washing your hands or using hand sanitizer will help you fight off any germs that might be in the area, and this could help save your health.
Don’t Let Your Diet Go to the Dogs
When you’re stuck in your home though, you might find that your life isn’t going in the direction that you want it to. You might find that you are struggling to stick to a routine, eat healthily, or even do a bit of exercise here and there. Although it can be easy to just say so what? It’s important that you keep your diet packed with fresh fruit and vegetables. If you let your diet go, then you might find yourself feeling ill and your immune system might be weaker. A little comfort eating is totally fine, but if your whole diet means that you’re only eating crisps and chocolate then you will make yourself ill.
It is important to eat a balanced and varied diet. A simple way to do this is to “eat the rainbow“. As in, try to consume as many colors as you can, in doing so, you’ll get an efficient balance of all the good stuff. You should still be aiming to get your fill of vitamins and nutrients during this time, particularly as this will help keep your immune system strong. You’ll also feel like you have more energy and won’t feel so low.
Keep Talking
The worst thing that you can do is stop talking to people. Just because you can’t do this face to face, does not mean that you can’t do it full stop. At least in this day and age technology makes communicating a lot easier. Even though it’s tougher to communicate and stay connected it’s not impossible. You should pick up the phone, connect over social media, or send an email.
If you feel like you are missing your friends and family then schedule a few virtual movie dates, and face time them at the same time. You could even send them pictures on Snapchat of random things that happen in your day. Keep talking to people and you won’t feel so alone. If you are still worried about how to stay healthy and safe during this time, then make sure to check out this article for more information.
