Because of so many businesses like restaurants, stores, and public spaces are closed in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s become more difficult to stay healthy at home and keep your physical and mental health intact. Nutrient-rich foods aren’t as easy to come by, social gatherings have been halted, and fitness centers and gyms aren’t able to welcome clients.
While keeping to healthy habits can be more difficult in certain circumstances, it’s not impossible.
It’s more important than ever to understand the importance of nutrition and healthy living right now, so, let’s have a look at some great tips on how you can stay healthy at home during this time.
Easy Steps To Take At Home
There is certainly a lot of us at home right now, and there are things that we can do to stay healthy at home and make sure we limit the risk of spreading germs to loved ones or family members. Because Coronavirus is unpredictable it’s difficult to know whether you are carrying the germs before you become sick, this makes it important to keep the germs to yourself. One of the best things you can do in terms of disinfecting and cleaning is to make sure you have the right tools to do it.
It’s essential for you to clean and disinfect the high-touch surfaces, areas like the kitsch countertops, fridge-freezer handle, door handles, and bathrooms. You should ideally be cleaning these on a daily basis, or at least wiping them over. Use a high-level bleach solution that has at least 70% alcohol.
What’s great is most of the disinfectants that you can buy in the store do have this level of bleach or alcohol. Just make sure you check so that you are sure. This is going to help minimize the risk of sharing germs with others in the household when you have been out and about for essentials. If you can use some gloves when cleaning and then dispose of them after.
Take Good Care Of Your Mental Health
If you’ve heard of the phrase ‘going stir crazy’ then you made be starting to feel a little like this right now. There are some steps you can take to maintain your sanity though. A good way to tackle this is to adhere to a schedule. Now, the schedule doesn’t need to be in stone, as you can adapt it to suit your needs, but sticking to some sort of routine is good for you.
To do this you should try to get up at the same time each day, take a shower or bath, and get dressed ready for the day. One of the best things you can do, to help you stay healthy at home, especially if you are now working from home is to still get dressed for your working day and then get back into your casuals as you would once your workday has ended.
Simply getting dressed, having a lunch hour and a set time for tea, allowing for some sort of activity or exercise, and getting rest when you need it at the end of the day is going to keep you positive and ready for anything.
You should feel a sense of meaning and be able to maintain a sense of calm and control through this uncertain time, which is certainly something that we all need in order to stay healthy at home. If you feel like things are getting on top of you, take some time to relax, try a new hobby, and then look at your schedule. It could be that you have been too strict on yourself or are going the opposite way and treating this time as a holiday.
Exercise Is Important
If you were someone who loved to swim or spend time in the gym then you may find it more difficult to think of ways that you can get the exercise that you need and want to complete. However, it can be easier than you think to find ways to get some exercise and its especially important that you do it during this time.
Maintaining physical activity is not only going to help you keep fit but it is also going to help you to keep positive. It is also great for your immune system to keep physically fit.
So, what exercise can you do to help you stay healthy at home? Well, there are many different activities that you can do including:
- Exercise Videos
- Live-streamed exercise classes
- Meditation
- Going for a walk
- Going for a hike
- Cycling indoors and outdoors
- Aerobic exercise at home
- Weight lifting at home
- Dancing
- Yoga
Getting outdoors is one of the best things you can do, especially in the nice weather. You’re getting fresh air, revitalizing yourself, getting a healthy dose of vitamin D, and getting the exercise that you need. You still need to make sure you are avoiding contact with other people, but getting outside does wonder for your mental health.
Maintaining A Healthy Diet
There are many people who are worried over a shortage of food, however, we have all been reassured that this won’t happen. Although some people choose to panic buy and stock up the situation as helped by introducing limits on certain items, and reduced open hours of the stores so that the shelves could be restocked more efficiently. If you are going to start storing food so you don’t need to venture out more than you need to you still need to make sure it’s the right food.
Maintaining a healthy diet right now is more important than ever to stay healthy at home, we all know that what we consume can really have an impact on both our immunity and health. As much as you can, you should try to stick to immune-boosting foods like vegetables and fruits that are high in antioxidants, foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids, walnuts, and fish if you can get it. Remember that not all frozen food is bad for you, it’s now possible to get frozen fruits and vegetables that have a long freezer life and come out like they are fresh.
If you’re not a fan of frozen foods, then try to buy items that have a longer shelf life such as apples, potatoes, carrots, and beets. These are the things that have the potential to last months in your refrigerator. So, you don’t really have any excuse not to include fruits and vegetables into your diet, each and every day.
Another great choice is nuts, the make a fantastic snack, especially if you choose the ones that are high in protein and have antioxidant properties. On top of this, they are really good at filling you up much more than snacking on a packet of crisps or chocolate. An example of an omega-3 rich food is crab — try out this delicious butter crab recipe to get started! Remember this when you are attempting to find ways to stay healthy at home.
So, Why Is Your Diet Important?
Most people won’t know that a big part of your immune system comes from your gut, this is why eating a healthy diet is one of the focuses when you are talking about your immune system. You need to eat foods that foster a healthy microbiome. These healthy, good bacteria live in your gut to help produce the right kind of immune cells for your overall health. If your gut health is suffering, which can happen due to many factors including a decrease in beneficial bacteria, too much growth of unhelpful bacteria, and a lack of bacterial diversity, you may need to learn about a gut reset. This would entail a change in diet, a focus on probiotics and a good nutrition regimen. A reset could help your body recover and thrive.
So, How Do You Know If You Are Staying Healthy?
If you feel sluggish, then the chances are you’re not eating or drinking the right foods. Alcohol is advised to be taken with moderation but you can opt for a healthier alternative like Puligny Montrachet wines. A balanced and nutritious diet is one of the biggest giveaways, so if you feel like this it might be time to look at your diet. You may also notice things like your hair been drier than normal, your skin has breakouts or is dry, your nails become more brittle and they break more easily. These are all potential signs of poor nutrition, and you should really be re-looking at your diet, and making changes to ensure you have the right, supportive diet.
If you’re not doing it already, then there is no wrong time to stay healthy at home, start living a healthy lifestyle, and eating a nutritious diet. You might also want to include some supplements or vitamins, such as a multivitamin to give your immune system a boost. It is, of course, better for you to get these minerals and vitamins through your diet, but if your diet is understandably a little off at the moment, or you don’t have access to the nutrient-rich foods that you need, it’s definitely not a bad idea to introduce a multivitamin into your diet.
Sleep
Sleep may be hard to get for many people at the moment but it’s essential to help you stay healthy at home. With everything that is happening it’s understandable that you may be struggling some nights to get the sleep that you need or get to sleep at a reasonable time. Try to set yourself a sleep goal and stick to it. Switch technology off at the end of the night and get the recommended 7-9 hours rest. If you’re struggling to fall asleep try to create yourself a sleeping routine, where you go to bed at the same time each night and make an effort to wind down at the end of the day.
These are just some of the ways you can stay healthy at home during the coronavirus pandemic, is there anything that you are doing to keep yourself healthy? Please share them in the comments below.
