As the world braces to see what the pandemic has in store for us in the future, the laws on lockdowns are starting to ease. And as people leave their homes they are greeted back into their old way of life, though with a few more masks and hand sanitizers than before. But, all of this is happening very slowly and there are still plenty of people who won’t be going to the office any time soon. While it may be comfortable to work from home at first, this routine can take a lot out of you. Dr. Schwarzburg, MD at Skinly Aesthetics is passing out a few health and wellness tips to keep your skin as well as body healthy and strong throughout the rest of the lockdown.
Taking a Deep Breath
We don’t have to tell you the importance of breathing. You already know the consequences of stopping. The question isn’t really about whether or not you should breathe, but rather a matter of what and where. Even a room with proper air conditioning is not going to offer the fresh air you need to keep your lungs clean. In fact, air conditioners that haven’t been properly cleaned for some time may even contain fungal buildup which could cause serious damage to your respiratory system.
A good way to avoid this is by simply breathing fresh air. That’s right: nothing beats fresh air. It’s not just important to breathe it because it doesn’t have any of those nasty particles that you would find in stale, indoor air. Fresh, outdoor air actually helps to clean your lungs. And as you probably already know, you need air and plenty of it.
Fresh air is required to keep your body strong and healthy. It is especially important for skin since a lack of proper air circulation can weaken the skin cells, causing more sensitive skin, flaking, chipping, and is a prelude to a load of other health problems. Take at least 30 minutes out of your time to sit in the backyard or outside your apartment complex and enjoy the fresh air. If you live in a smoggy metropolitan area, try to take a trip out of the city, even just a short one.
Don’t Forget That Vitamin D
Consuming or absorbing vitamin D is one of the fundamental steps of keeping your body healthy and strong. Vitamin D deficiency leads to countless health problems and leaves your body vulnerable to all kinds of negative outcomes. The majority of the vitamin D that our body absorbs comes from the sun. Unfortunately, when stuck indoors, you don’t get as much sunlight as you would on your way to work or taking a stroll through the park.
There are workarounds to getting the necessary amount of vitamin D. There’s always indoor tanning. Just sit under a window and let as much sun as possible onto your body. But even if your windows don’t face the sun and you don’t have your own private backyard where you can get sunlight while keeping away from other people, you can simply eat vitamin D.
You will find vitamin D in all kinds of food, from fish to nuts, egg yolks, mushrooms, citrus, and so on. Chances are you already eat vitamin D-rich food. So all you have to do is simply increase the amount of food you eat that has vitamin D in it.
But if you are on a strict diet, have an allergy to any of the vitamin D-rich foods, or simply don’t like the taste of any of them, you can always take vitamin addons. Take these regularly and you can keep the vitamin D in your body at an optimal level, keeping your body and especially the skin, sturdy, supple, looking, and feeling young.
Take Back Control of Your Sleeping Routine
It’s so easy to take sleep for granted when that’s all you can really do sometimes. Working from home also means working with a schedule of your choice. While some people keep their normal work routine going strong, others are too tempted by their comfortable bed and sleep through the afternoons and rush to get everything done by the end of the workday.
Not only is this bad for the quality of work that you do, but it also doesn’t do your sleep schedule any favors either. Your body is naturally used to sleeping at a specific time of the day and working at another. This is called the Circadian rhythm and if you break it, your body is going to suffer as a result. While most of the positive impacts that a solid Circadian rhythm has been on your physiological, mental, and emotional health, it does also have a lot of positive effects on your body.
Do your best to keep your Circadian rhythm going and if it is broken, then find ways to restore it. Now, this isn’t to say that there are people out there who don’t function better at night. There are some people who work during the night and rest in the daytime and they can get as much done as anyone else. So, it’s really up to you and what you are used to, though do try your best to keep the Circadian rhythm going.
Either way, regardless of your function better throughout the day or at night, make sure that you get enough sleep. It’s easy to lose track of how much sleep you’ve gotten with an imbalance sleep cycle. And don’t let work from home fool you into thinking that just because you’re working from your bedroom you all of a sudden have less to do. With many companies being caught off-guard by the pandemic and as a result, many of their workers had to work crunch hours to get everything back on track.
So, remember: don’t overwork yourself and get your sleep schedule in order. You will notice just how much lack of sleep has been holding you back and how fixing it will improve not only your work performance but also your mood and emotional stability.