The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a spanner in works, significantly altering regular life as we know. A large majority of people are within the confines of their homes with a lot of time on their hands.
Whether you’re in quarantine or adhering to the government stipulations of a lockdown, you need to take care of your health. This increased free time is bound to cause people to engage in several unhealthy behaviors including but not limited to bad eating habits and lack of exercise.
Below, we suggest and elaborate on a handful of healthy tips – including diet recommendations – to ensure that you maintain a healthy body and sound mind during the restrictions imposed by the pandemic.
How to stay healthy during the coronavirus pandemic
The sudden movement restrictions – a direct result of the COVID-19 scourge – has turned over the lives of most people in the world. Apart from those deemed essential workers, many people suddenly have a lot of free time.
In such a situation where the end seems far off, it doesn’t take much for one to descend into an unhealthy state. In this article, you’ll find tips to break unhealthy habits and make it out of these times a healthy person.
These healthy tips include:
Eat a balanced diet
One of the most common problems during this time is food. At the start of the lockdown, several people stocked a lot of non-perishable foods. However, the majority of these non-perishable foods don’t provide all the nutrients that the body requires.
The body needs some minerals and vitamins to function properly. You, therefore, need to vary your diet so that you give your body what it needs. Include fresh vegetables and fruits into your diet.
Additionally, you need to choose whole-grain carbohydrates over the refined ones. The latter are overly processed and lost some of their nutritional value. They also have additives and preservatives that cause harm to the body in the long term.
Take care of your body’s food processing apparatus. By eating foods rich in probiotics, you ensure that you maintain gut health. These probiotic rich foods include yogurt, pickles, sauerkraut and kimchi.
Keep track of food portion sizes
One way to keep healthy is to eat adequate portions of food. Too much free time can cause you to overeat. Some people also eat a lot when they are stressed. Overeating can result in significant weight gain during the months of lockdown.
When cooking, ensure that you keep track of the measurement of the ingredients to ensure that you come out with the right amount of food for you and your family.
Also, avoid eating foods and snacks straight from the box or packaging. You’ll find your hands reaching into the box all through the episodes of that show you’re binge-watching. Pour out and adequate amount onto a plate or bowl and eat that and only that.
Keep hydrated and drink plenty of fluids
While this might fall under eating a balanced diet, it’s important enough to deserve a stand-alone mention. A well-hydrated body is better equipped to fight off infections. Fluids also ensure that other processes in the body go on without a hitch.
In the free time, it’s very tempting to resort to alcohol. It’s prudent to resist this urge and drink as little as possible. Instead, drink lots of water and fresh-pressed juices.
An adult needs around 6 to 8 glasses of water a day – each glass containing around 8 ounces. Now, this might be difficult because water is so tasteless, making the act of drinking it unenjoyable.
You can drink more by adding slices of lemon or cucumber to make it more palatable. Additionally, you can eat fruits with high water content like melons and pineapples.
Exercise regularly
Staying at home with nothing to do has limited people’s movements. Your area’s administrators and governors probably have restricted public spaces like gyms, parks or partaking in club activities like swimming or marathons.
This means that many people are living a sedentary lifestyle. A sustained inactive lifestyle causes you to gain weight uncontrollably and also leads to heart diseases.
To combat this, exercise regularly in your home. Walking or jogging around the immediate around the community – with proper social distancing and masks – can get your heart beating and bring on a nice sweat.
If you aren’t allowed to leave your residence, you can do some home exercises. Some televisions broadcast these. Alternatively, you can check out fitness channels on Youtube and follow along. There are also phone apps that you can utilize to get you to exercise.
Exercise not only helps your bodily health but it also improves your mood and mental health.
Get enough sleep
With that amount of free time, it would seem obvious that people are getting enough sleep. However, many people are keeping irregular routines, staying awake long into the night and spending chunks of the day napping.
Maintaining irregular sleeping patterns put off the normal circadian rhythm. This presents as taking naps of different lengths throughout the day and night. The result is that your body doesn’t get the rest it needs.
You, therefore, need to maintain a routine that sees you get around 8 hours of sleep a night. You’ll feel refreshed in the morning – energized and ready to take on the day.
Adequate sleep also reduces stress and work wonders for your mental health.
Mark B. Mugaanyi has spent the last 10 years crafting content on a variety of topics including health, auto, technology and startups. Away from pounding on the QWERTY, he enjoys getting engrossed in a thick tome or getting first downs on Madden. To learn more about Mark’s freelance writing services, reach out here.
