Last Month, I spoke at The “Refresh” Homeschool Conference. It was so nice to get out to a conference and I was so excited to speak on the topic of “Self Care For The Busy Mom”
One tip I always share is to guard your mind, especially when it comes to the news and social media. There have been countless studies done now on how social media can lead to feelings of inadequacy and increased risk of depression. And understandably, we compare our everyday lives to the highlight reel that is social media and that will always leave us feeling as if we are coming up short.
But the news lately is full of stories of an enemy that can’t be seen and is no respecter of persons. I’m talking about Covid-19 or the Coronavirus as it is more commonly known.
Typically, people panic and have anxiety over situations in which we feel we have no control, and this recent outbreak is no exception. Except, what if you could take a proactive approach instead of a reactive one?
Being proactive is not hiding in fear but rather, noticing the situation and responding from a place of power and control as opposed to feeling helpless and reacting. When your body reacts and feels stress, your ability to make a wise plan is greatly diminished.
Here are a few simple, practical things you can begin to do today- to improve and safeguard your health, because a healthy body is harder to get sick and a healthy mind will make better choices.
- Spend time in fresh air, and sunshine (absorbing vitamin D), a study out of the University of East Anglia found that people who spend time in nature have reduced risk of type ll diabetes, cardiovascular disease, premature death, preterm birth, stress and high blood pressure.
- Make a plan to move your body in a way that you enjoy to get physical exercise. Movement not only reduces your risk of diseases mentioned above, but it helps with improving mental health, and reducing stress which is really helpful right now.
- Get enough sleep. Besides the long list of the health benefits of a good night’s sleep, which is so important when trying to maintain optimal health, a good night’s sleep helps you cope better with life. We don’t know exactly how this virus will play out just yet but we do know that a good night’s sleep is a fantastic hedge against so many health issues. Turn off the news, wash your hands, go to sleep.
- Put together a good support system, now. Isolation and feelings of loneliness are detrimental to good health. Even if people have to self quarantine, you can still call/ text or facetime and check in on friends and have a quality connection without physically being together.
- Eat real food– reduce the processed food. I created a free printable grocery list and provided 13 meal ideas from that list using whole foods that are simple and easy to make. Your body was created to fight germs, but it needs to be fed the most nourishing food you can afford in order to work at optimal levels. Try to reduce the chips and cookies right now and choose the citrus fruits. Not only are these high in Vitamin C but studies have shown that the smell of Citrus actually reduces stress.
- Reduce your body weight by 5-10%, by doing this you can ease the pressure on your joints, reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, reduce the bad cholesterol and raise the good cholesterol. That lost weight also improves sleep quality, reduces insulin resistance, improves your mood and reduces inflammation. If this seems impossible for you, check out my ebook- “How To Eat Like Your Skinny Friends”, I teach you how to lose weight without dieting by understanding the psychology behind weight gain and how to change your brain to lose weight for the last time. It’s a great resource to have if you want to lose weight .
Lastly, keep your perspective, we don’t know what the future brings, depending on what camp you are in, this is either the end of life as we know it or it’s just a cold.
We do know that these situations come up and while you may feel helpless, just know you can take steps to improve your health besides hand washing- remember, a healthy body is harder to get sick.
Katie is a Certified Health Education Specialist, and holds a Masters Degree in Community Health Education and is a Certified Wellness and Health Coach who specializes in weight loss. She is the CEO of https://www.healthwellnessandchocolate.com where she teaches women how to lose weight for the last time.