8 Tips To Help You Stay Healthy Throughout Lockdown

No-one saw the pandemic coming. And because of that, many people are starting to feel isolated or anxious about the world around them.

With the government stating that the population should only go out once a day or exercise (unless they are a key worker), the negative effect on both physical and mental health is undeniable. But during this time, it’s important to try and stay positive, keeping in mind that the rules are only there to help stop the spread of the virus.

Whether you’re working from home or not, it’s vital that you also try and remain fit and healthy throughout lockdown. It’s easy to lose motivation for going on a walk or trying to learn a new skill, but by doing those things, it will benefit both your physical and mental health in the long term.

If you’re unsure as to where to start with staying healthy, here are 8 tips that you can use throughout the lockdown:

Create a Routine and Stick to It

When you’re at home all the time, it’s easy to fall into the trap of an ever-changing routine. But by creating a routine and sticking to it throughout, you’ll feel as though you’ve achieved more and that there is a clear divide between the weekdays and the weekend.

For example, as well as getting a good amount of sleep each night, you should try and schedule in regular breaks, including lunch/dinner breaks, movement breaks and a dedicated time each day for relaxation.

Exercise, Exercise, Exercise

Following on from the above, you should try and exercise each day. Whether this be in the form of a walk (whilst keeping social distancing rules of course!), some yoga in the garden, jogging or watching a virtual exercise class) you’ll feel a lot better after the workout.

Get Plenty of Sleep Each Night

If you want to effectively fight off any bad bacteria, improve your immune system and help your mental health throughout this time, a good nights’ sleep is essential. Helping you to feel rejuvenated and refreshed, it should be one of your top priorities.

Put Down The Phone

Ok, so during the lockdown you might be tempted to go onto your phone. But by constantly logging on to the various social media channels and checking the news you’ll only feel more anxious about the situation. So to prevent this from happening, you should try and put down the phone every once in a while.

Taking care of your mental health is critical during this time, and there is so much online that will impact your thinking. So ditch the phone and go and spend time with those you live with or head out on a walk to help clear your mind. Alternatively, you could try a natural remedy such as cbd oil or soothing chamomile tea.

Eat More Healthily

Ok, so this might sound like an obvious one. But it’s easy to have takeaways ordered or dive into the biscuit tin during the lockdown. As you won’t be able to go out to anywhere other than your walk/to the shops, you’ll be spending more time at home – and therefore, might be tempted to eat more/more unhealthily than you normally do. Especially if you’re relaxing or working near to the kitchen!

But during the lockdown, it’s important that you try and eat as healthily as possible. Although snacks and sugary treats may feel like a good idea at the time, it will only lead you to feel sluggish and unmotivated to exercise/do other activities at home.

Similarly, try and make sure that you’re not overdoing it with the alcohol. Wine and beer are very sugary and are full of calories – so although the odd glass here and there isn’t harmful, a bottle of wine or several pints a night isn’t good for your long-term health.

Stay Connected With Friends and Family

As no-one can see loved ones that live further away at the moment, it’s important to stay connected via technology. Helping to maintain your mental health and a wonderful opportunity to catch up with friends and family, there are several technologies that you could use – including the likes of Google Hangouts and Zoom.

As well as chatting with them, it’s also a good chance to plan a virtual quiz night, giving each of you the chance to plan some questions ahead of time.

Learn Something New

As mentioned above, learning a new skill or trying out a new activity can prove to be very valuable in terms of your health. This doesn’t necessarily need to be a skill that involves a lot of exercise (although something like gardening can be very effective), but one that stimulates your brain. For example, you could learn how to paint, colour, bake; whatever takes your fancy.

Organise ‘You’ Time Each Day

You might start to feel as though you’ve got cabin fever or that your other family members are starting to get on your nerves - but don’t worry, those are feelings that the majority of people are having during the lockdown. To help with this, you can try and block out 1 hour or so a day for quality ‘you’ time.

Whether this involves running a warm bath filled with soothing bubbles, sitting in a quiet area of your home with your favourite book or another activity you enjoy, it will help you to relax and unwind after the day. This is a fantastic way of taking care of your body and mind, as well as being a key step towards a self-care routine.

Final Thoughts

So, there you go! Those are 8 top tips on how you can stay both physically and mentally healthy throughout lockdown. What step you take, of course, is completely up to you and your personal preferences. But each of these steps can prove to be very valuable during this unusual time, either on their own or if you combine them each day!

*Photo by Gustavo Fring from Pexels.