We’re nearly 6 weeks into this lockdown, and there seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel. Since we aren’t sure how long this will all last for, here are a few tips for setting up good habits that could improve your life both during these times and after.
1. Stay connected with your friends and family. Chances are, you’ve had some phone calls and video chats during the lockdown. Make sure to keep it up if you have; speaking with friends and family is great for your mental and physical health. Your immune system can actually be negatively impacted by isolation, so keep it strong by increasing your connection with the ones you love.
2. Try meditation. Available apps like Calm, Waking Up, Headspace or 10% Happier can be used to destress, relax, foster mindfulness, and create a sense of wellbeing. It’s all too easy to give in to eating junk and drinking too much, which makes you feel worse off in the long run. Chronic stress and depression can make your body’s immunity falter, while meditation has been shown in dozens of randomized controlled trials to reduce inflammation and boost immunity. See: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4940234/
3. Take a technology break. While technology is essential to staying in contact during the lockdown, this can actually be a wakeup call to notice how dependent you are on it. How many times do you mindlessly login and lose yourself for an hour only to realize you completely forget what you’ve read, or worse, feel anxious about it? You might consider taking a break from the endlessly negative news streams and disconnect from it all for a bit. Read a book, go for a long walk, do some gardening, try painting or drawing… all the classic hobbies our grandparents used to love. We’ll always have technology, but it can be very refreshing to take some time off.
4. Take a break from the news. With all this time at home, it's easy to obsess over every new detail about COVID-19. While following the guidelines are the best way to stay safe, reading every piece of literature on the subject will likely only make you feel on edge. Especially now with the abundance of conspiracy theories and ideas contradicting the official stances that most scientists and politicians have taken & fanning the fires of paranoia, we really just need to keep a level head. Taking a break from the news and focusing on positive things, in whatever form that takes, is smart.
5. Start a home workout routine. If you’re usually a gym-goer, you probably switched to home workouts shortly after lockdown. If you haven’t, then this could be a great time to try some interesting new workouts. If you’ve never tried a home workout or feel you have limited space, trust me, you don’t need a lot of space to get a good workout. Have you been curious about trying HIIT, yoga, kickboxing, or calisthenics? There is a whole world of fitness streaming services and apps waiting for you. Take Beachbody On Demand for example, who have 1,100+ workouts available for you to stream. You could do a totally different workout every day for 3 years! Other workout apps/subscriptions include Fiit, Plankk, Movement for Modern Life, FitOn, Omstars, and more. When the lockdown ends, your local gym will need your support, so if you can afford to try and get back in there, and show your friends a few of the new moves you learned!
6. Improve your sleeping patterns better. In Matthew Walker’s book “Why We Sleep”, the author talks about how basically every aspect of our health and wellbeing is linked to sleep. From repairing body tissue, increasing sense of wellbeing, and increased memory and productivity, sleep is something we all could use a lot more of, properly! With free time available, this could be a great time to set in place strict habits to benefit ourselves, and getting regular better quality sleep could be one that makes a lasting difference.
In closing, you could actually use this time to set up some amazing habits that persist long after all this lockdown business is over. Use your time wisely, and instead of being down in the dumps, you might be able to come out of this feeling on track with your health, more in tune with your mind, less anxious, better rested, and more productive. Stay Positive Sarnia-Lambton. Tough times can be opportunities in disguise.
