Even in times of crisis like those of a pandemic, it is vital to keep in mind that exercise is essential for staying fit and healthy. Pandemics like the recent COVID-19 results in the closure of gyms and related health and fitness centers. But it is crucial to exercise with or without a gym. There are quite a few alternatives to gyms during pandemics that let you maintain a healthy lifestyle. These are as follows.
Remain Active
While indeed, in most places, the gyms are yet to reopen their doors, you can still do plenty of physical activities without throwing precautionary measures like avoiding large crowds and maintaining social distancing. As the people at BestHealth.org pointed out, an excellent example of exercise would be aerobics that can be pursued at home without any equipment. Remember that avoiding crowds is quite not the same thing as avoiding nature. Feel free to go for a round of jogging or some enjoyable brisk walking in uncrowded areas. Additionally, there are plenty of exercises like jumping jacks, pushups, and sit-ups that you can do right from your home. It’s a great option to ensure that you stay fit without having to go to a gym.
Get Enough Sleep
It cannot be overstressed how essential good sleep is to our overall health and well-being. Research wings of the federal government have found that when the immune system gets activated, it affects sleep too. Such activation, in turn, affects the body’s defenses. Adequate sleep for a person varies from one individual to another. Health authorities recommend seven or more hours of sleep for people aged eighteen to sixty.
Eating Right
Pandemics like the recent COVID-19 cause a lot of stress that result from how life is drastically affected by such events. Such anxiety might lead to what is called “emotional eating.” You need to avoid this through self-discipline. Healthy whole foods that are a rich source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals are what you need. Examples of such food would be oranges, dark, leafy green veggies, tomatoes, and fresh herbs. Remember that you want to eat whole food full of nutrition rather than fast food or processed food.
Take Care of Yourself
During pandemics, you also need to be able to look after yourself and your needs. You need to extend a supportive hand and help out the people near and dear to you and ask them to take care of themselves. There are plenty of personal care practices that serve to promote your holistic well-being. Some of such activities are relaxing, meditating, spending quality family time, etc.
Continue Medical Treatments
Never stop the medication prescribed to you by your doctor for any health issues, not only that stick to your doctor’s directions for taking them. There are plenty of chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and asthma that might affect you severely if you don’t take them as per the prescription. Turn to your healthcare team and remember, technological advancement has made telehealth solutions possible.
Properly Deal With Anxiety and Stress
The precautions all of us must observe to stop or blunt COVID-19 from spreading do bring a significant amount of stress. You should accordingly develop coping mechanisms that will help you deal with the additional anxiety and stress. These mechanisms include regular exercise if required right at your home, working on your reading habits, meditation, taking up hobbies, and acquiring new skills. Use the tools and resources modern technology has given you to do such activities. Not only will they benefit you by themselves, but you will also end up with an overall better routine than the pre-COVID-19 era.
Stay in Touch
If you are in quarantine or isolated, perhaps due to any other non-medical reason resulting from the pandemic, don’t feel down. It might be anxious and depressing for you, but science and technology are here to help. There are plenty of apps and other technological means that help you remain in touch with near and dear ones. Take the opportunity provided by COVID-19 to get back in touch in the respite from the busy life you lead.
The steps we mentioned in this article should help you in enhancing health and wellness levels. While all these activities will most certainly serve to make our bodies more resilient to illnesses, it is in no way a sure-fire way to promise immunity from contracting pandemics like COVID-19. You should additionally observe and follow the guidelines issued by health authorities on particular diseases. In case of any doubts or concerns, feel free to seek dedicated medical help.
