During the lockdown, it’s hard to resist the temptation to let ourselves loose and indulge in all the bad things for our health. Slacking off, not exercising enough, eating junk food, and even lousy hygiene are not excluded from the list. To make matters worse, the more you let yourself sink into them, the harder these bad habits are to reverse.
Now for the good news – with the help of the tricks you’re about to learn, it’s possible to keep them under control, if not undo completely. So consider implementing the following:
1. Use health trackers and apps
One of the excuses people often have is the so-called inability to track their calorie or water intake due to it being too much of a hassle. As luck would have it, there are many apps and health-tracker wearables to choose from, so you won’t need to lift a finger to receive the necessary reminders.
Another excuse is being too busy studying and forgetting to exercise. Once again, setting up periodic reminders is the easiest thing on the planet. Should you choose to, you can also go deeper than that and feed your exercising data into an app that slices and dices it, thus allowing you to get a detailed overview of your results and patterns through analytics. For example, a smartwatch tracks your heart rate, and if it ever falls outside the scope of what’s normal, you’ll be able to tie it to a specific event and come to the bottom of it.
2. Nurture your relationships
While everyone talks about keeping their physical health in good standing, for whatever reason, mental health is often cast to the sidelines. And that’s doing you a massive disservice – both aspects of your health are of equal importance.
So apart from the bread and butter of it (such as getting enough sleep, being kind to yourself, and so forth), nurturing your relationships is not to be forgotten either. If you haven’t done so in a while, now is a good time to call your high school friends or parents and check up on how they’re doing. It doesn’t have to be for hours on end if neither if you feel like it, but you’d be amazed how much of a difference a kind word can make in someone’s day.
3. Have an online counseling session
Speaking of mental health, did you consider how much of a toll all the isolation is taking on it? Humans are social creatures, and this is true for extroverts in particular. By being confined to the borders of your home and not being able to socialize with others in person, you may start noticing symptoms of depression or anxiety. Hence, speaking to a professional counselor online would be a wise thing to consider.
With that being said, do take the steps necessary to protect your privacy during these sessions and always use a VPN to ensure no one is eavesdropping on your connection. The same is true for your other online activities that involve exchanging any sort of sensitive data, including online banking, online shopping, and chatting with your friends on social networks.
4. Exercise using what’s available
While you may not be able to go to a fitness center in your local area, that shouldn’t stop you from exercising. Ask yourself this: do you need expensive equipment to do a set of push-ups? Instead of focusing on the obstacles, look around you and see what’s available. Chances are you’ll be able to use a chair or the stairs as a great exercising aid. And you more than likely have a yoga mat or something similar lying around your household somewhere that will come in handy.
Speaking of yoga, you can even tune in to online yoga classes or any other exercising activity you prefer. That way, you’ll be able to enjoy guided exercising from the comfort of your home. If you think about it, there are almost zero drawbacks to it, and convenience sure is a huge plus!
5. Mind what you eat
Having all that extra time on your hands lends itself well to learning a new recipe or going over your dieting regimen and getting rid of all the things that aren’t healthy for you. For starters, try to cut down on your sugar and salt intake. Moreover, saturated fats aren’t any good for you either.
Instead, eat many fruits and vegetables and up your intake of Calcium, Vitamin D, and Vitamin C (and all the others that apply). Soon, you’ll start noticing your energy levels going up, and you might even shed some extra pounds in the process.
Conclusion
If you are working or studying from home, your health should remain a priority. Maintaining healthy habits is an essential part of your overall well being and – if done right – can even boost your level of productivity.
