Five ways to maintain health during isolation

By Ashlie Lopez

Acting on the basis of government advisories, international protocols and mane ESA doctors review reports, millions of people around the world are living in a state of lockdown. This is necessary for us to be safe, but at the same time, it creates challenges for our health—mental as well as physical.

This is because we stay indoors all the time, with limited opportunities to meet other people and engage in any kind of outdoor activity. However, all hope is not lost yet. There are many things that you can do indoors to maintain your physical and mental health during the current lockdown.

Yoga and meditation

If we are locked up indoors, why not make the best use of the solitude and me-time that we have. Yoga or meditation is a great way to get rid of stress and negative feelings that we become surrounded with during the lockdown. A lot of people living with families experience frequent fights and arguments.

Yoga and meditation can help you to feel happier and mentally as well as physically relaxed. It can compensate for the missed walks, gym routines and other activities that you enjoyed doing before the lockdown. There are so many videos on the Web where you can learn to meditate and do some simple yoga poses.

Follow a new routine

People are referring to the lockdown as the new normal. This requires that you set up a new routine for yourself as well. This means making sure that you have time for adapting to the new routine as well. Instead of the morning rush, most people are working from home. This means setting up a small home office, telling your family not to bother you during office hours even though you are still present in the house, and learning to stop when the workday ends.

Make sure to add at least 30 minutes of daily exercise into your new routine. Not having enough time is no longer an excuse. This will ensure that you avoid feelings stressed out due to the blurred distinctions between work time and personal time.

Take up reading

Reading a good book seemed to be a luxury for people in the pre-lockdown days. But now there is more than enough time to take up reading as a daily habit. You can read books about physical and mental health, or even that novel that you always wanted to read.

Reading is a great way to enhance your knowledge and also helps you to wind down at the end of a hectic day. You can also make it a social activity by creating a Facebook or WhatsApp group with your friends and talking about the books you have read over the past week.

Reorganize

This is the perfect time to be useful around the house. Remember that woodwork project you have been putting on hold for so long. Well, roll up your sleeves and get those tools out of the garage. This will keep you physically active as well as give you the opportunity to try out something new.

You can even reorganize your bedroom and your closet that was always screaming out for some help. You can even turn this into a family activity so that you and your kids get some time to bond and learn about each other by going through old things.

Be grateful

This is perhaps the most important thing for staying mentally healthy. Even though you are in a state of lockdown, there is a lot that you can be grateful for. You have a roof above your head and enough food in the kitchen. Your finances are working fine and you are living with your loved ones close by.

If you are healthy and not in any financial need, you are better off than millions of souls out there whose livelihoods and businesses have been snapped because of the lockdown. Maintain a gratitude journal, pray, or just talk to your family about the things you are grateful for. It will help you maintain a positive and optimistic outlook about the world.

The lockdown will end sooner or later and we will be back to our routine lives, whether it is college or the office. But we should keep in mind that the actions we take today will determine how we step into the new world that awaits us after the lockdown.

We should enter it with a positive attitude and frame of mind, and with an appreciation for our health, wellbeing, family—and other blessings that we have been blessed with in this world.