When the pandemic started, everyone worldwide developed daily routines in reaction to or to cope with the drastic changes in daily life. The routine may go like this—wake up, prepare meals, do something at home until the end of the day, go to sleep, and then repeat the same thing the following day. Simply put, people were forced to spend most of their time at home and be quarantined to keep themselves and others safe from the ongoing virus outbreak.
While it’s vital to stay at home to avoid contracting the virus, the situation may have an adverse effect on some people who aren’t used to staying at home for too long. For instance, if you’re used to doing your workouts at a gym or outdoors, this may be a big change for your workout routine. If you’re used to going out with your friends to many places, the quarantine and the feeling of ‘being locked in’ may affect your mental health. Of course, each person is dealing and coping with the quarantine differently.
Are you coping with the quarantine the right way? You may be staying at home, but you might’ve started neglecting your health and the other things you used to do and love. To help you get through these tough times, here are some tips to help you stay healthy and in shape while you’re in quarantine:
- Establish A Routine
Before the pandemic, you most likely had a routine in which you woke up early to prepare meals, headed to work, did a few workouts, caught up with your friends, returned home, and then got some sleep. That routine helped you to stay on track with your duties and as well as your health. But when the pandemic happened, everything was disrupted. You no longer wake up at the same time that you used to, eat at the right time, or work out regularly.
Thus, even if you claim not to have any reason to get up, it might still be best to have a routine to keep your days structured. Avoid letting yourself get used to waking up late in the morning and spending the rest of your afternoons lying on the couch with your chips. This will only promote a sedentary lifestyle and influence other family members in the house. So, set an example, try to wake up and sleep at the same time every day, get enough hours of sleep, eat at the right time, and treat your work-at-home setup as a real workplace.
- Eat And Drink Healthy
While in quarantine, the temptation to eat unhealthy foods, chips, and crisps is much stronger than during pre-pandemic. Way back when you can still go out freely anytime, you can have control over what you eat because your mind and time will be preoccupied with other things like work, travel, and socializing. Thus, during those times, the last thing in your mind was to grab a pack of junk food. But now that you’re in quarantine, you feel like you have nothing else to do but sit down, lie on the couch, watch Netflix, and nibble all the junk food you can grab.
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To break this unhealthy eating habit, be more mindful of what you eat and spend more time planning your meals at least a week ahead. This would mean preparing your grocery list ahead too. This way, you’ll have more control of what you put on the table for yourself and your family. The same goes for the beverages. Ensure your home is installed with water filters like this so everyone can have access to safe drinking water instead of grabbing artificial juices or sodas.
- Exercise
Your workout and exercise shouldn’t stop just because you can’t drive to the gym anymore. There are plenty of fitness and at-home exercises available on YouTube and other fitness websites these days. Some even have free workout plans available for you to subscribe to anytime. There are different workout plans for everyone: for at-home moms, work-at-home people, homeschoolers, or seniors. With these resources, you can start working on your quarantine glow-up right now!
- Use Your Time Productively
Obviously, while in quarantine, you’ll have more time at home, so you won’t have any excuse for not having time to do more things at home. Instead of spending your days on the couch and watching TV, use your time productively instead. If you’re not working on any remote job, spend your days deep cleaning your entire home. This is also the perfect opportunity to take care of the renovations through DIY that you’ve always wanted to do before. If not, you can also spend your hours learning a new language, taking online courses to learn a new skill, or reading a new book series. Ticking off some items on your bucket list is much better than lying on the couch the entire time.
- Get Enough Sleep
It can be tempting to stay up late binge-watching your favorite TV show or scrolling through social media. However, a good night’s sleep is essential for overall health and sticking to a good routine. To ensure that you get at least seven hours of snooze, stick to a sleeping schedule. Go to bed at the same time each night, and rid your room of bedtime distractions. It’s also good to consider your sensitivity to both coffee and alcohol as both can affect the quality of sleep you get. Lastly, invest in a continuous positive airway pressure device or CPAP machine and the necessary supplies if you have sleep apnea or other breathing issues while in slumber.
Wrapping Up
Make sure not to forget to look out for yourself, your health, and your safety. This advice should be applicable at all times, but especially while you’re in quarantine. During this time, it’s all about strengthening your physical and mental health to protect yourself against the pandemic. So, keep these tips in mind and stay optimistic.