If you are unfortunate enough to live in a part of the country where a lockdown is in place, this can have serious consequences to a person’s physical and mental well-being. Whether you live alone, or as part of a family unit, staying at home is fine for a few days, but when the stay at home directive lasts for months, issues can arise.
Here are a few tips to ease the stress of a lockdown situation.
- Vary your daily routine – You might think something as mundane as changing the order in which you do things will not help, but this keeps the mind active and staves off the boredom that comes with doing the same things day in, day out.
- Daily Physical Stretches – YouTube is ideal for stretching and exercise demonstrations, and even 15 minutes morning and evening will be beneficial. You do need to workout all the major muscle groups, which can be achieved with country walks, cycling, or on a treadmill at home, and getting a sweat up is a sign the body is performing under pressure, which is the goal.
- Healthy, Balanced Diet – There are online suppliers of fresh, organic fruit and veg, which is packed in a basket and delivered to your home address, and by regularly consuming organic produce, you are building up your immune system. Get your medical supplies from a leading outlet such as Blooms The Chemist, who also sell their products online.
- Feeding the Mind – Of course, you have Google ready at any time to search for information, and if you play board games, or online games that involve strategy and planning, then your brain is creating new neuron pathways. This reduces the risk of dementia, plus you are keeping your mind sharp by challenging it to set scenarios, and some leisure reading is also recommended.
- Yoga & Meditation – Meditation takes you to a point where you are happy with your own company, and while your conscious mind is not focused on any point of attention, this has a very calming effect on the practitioner. You can set the scene with some aroma candles and incense, then listen to soothing background music, breather deeply and relax.
- Keep Socially Active – You can talk to your friends and family via Facebook or Twitter and it is important to maintain social connections, which is now possible thanks to digital technology.
It is important to have some ‘me time’, a short period each day when you can indulge in your favourite book or listen to music, and with daily exercise and a good diet, you will handle this crisis, which we all hope will be over soon.