With no access to the gym and only access to limited groceries, we are forced to change our usual approach in maintaining our health. Our routines we have worked so hard to commit to have been disrupted, and with a change in routine, falling into bad habits can be easy if we are not proactive, so we need to take the appropriate steps to make sure we come out of this strong and with our health.
Living a healthier life brings you to living a happier life.
Being healthy doesn’t only refer to your physical health, it’s about your mental and emotional health as well. By following your trail to health, you will have less stress resulting in optimized sleep which will help with your energy levels. All of this has a direct impact on your overall happiness and feeling of fulfillment.
Take a Digital Detox
I know it seems all we have right now to keep ourselves busy is Netflix and our phones, but we do have options. Being engrossed in technology prevents us from our own mental clarity. If we stay occupied every second of the day, we don’t give our brains a minute to relax and just think. Take time to separate yourself, even if it’s just leaving your phone inside while taking your coffee outside. Believe it or not, it’ll even make your coffee taste better.
Tap into Your Creativity
Taking time to focus on things you’re passionate about is important. Because more of us are all working from home, it’s easy to lose our sense of structure. Instead of turning on the TV, take time to do what you love. Cook, paint, draw, knit, do yoga, play music. Give yourself the opportunity to show that you’ve accomplished something today other than just working. Seeing your accomplishments is uplifting. It’s proven that ticking off a number on your check list releases dopamine, so image the effect when you finally knit that sweater or finish that painting you’ve been meaning to work on. You have the time, so use it.
Maintain a Healthy Diet
A healthy diet is a large part of your overall health. It can assist in recovery and improve energy levels. An improvement in energy levels will help with your motivation to accomplish tasks. Healthy foods also assist in stress management. All of this accumulates, so a healthy diet is essential, it doesn’t only affect your physical state, but your mental state as well.
Exercise
It’s tough at the moment if you’re used to going to the gym, following a fitness instructor, and/or sticking to a specific workout schedule, but there are options. Although we can’t go to our fitness classes, we can create the structure ourselves. Planning out your week, whether it’s in your phone or writing it down, increases your chances of sticking to your routine. Having a clear vision will help you maintain your fitness goals. If you need more guidance on how to move forward, there are plenty of online workout sites that are offering free classes. ePilates Online, Planet Fitness, even YouTube.
Get a Good Night’s Sleep
Feeling rested is vital to feeling good. Limiting screen time can help with this; the blue light in your phone is stimulating and will keep you awake. Light in general can disrupt your sleep, so make sure you keep a dark room. Studies show that a common reason people don’t reach a state of deep sleep is because the room isn’t dark enough; a simple solution would be to get an eye mask. Also, be cautious of your caffeine intake. Again, this lack of structure can throw off your sense of time, so it’s easy to stay up later than normal. Drinking another coffee at 5 o’clock will only assist in that. Try to stick to a nightly ritual, it will train your body to know when you’re going to bed. A good tool would be to utilize an app like UpNow that can help you relax.
Working With a Health Coach
If you do need more structure, using a health coach is a great resource to utilize. It’s important to have a support system to hold you accountable and provide insight into things you may not be aware of. Health coaches design plans for your specific goals and your specific needs. It’s different than just hopping on a website and reading a blog or typing something into google; your health coach’s plans will be specifically catered to you. Erika Schlick is a health coach that found her way to back to health while facing many tough battles and her unique story provides a valuable take on our current situation. Relatable guidance like this can help prevent people from becoming sedentary and help them stay motivated to maintain their health.
With all of these adjustments we’re making to suit the current social climate, utilizing these tools will help you maintain your health. We may not be able to control what’s happening around us, but we do have control over how we respond and adjust our lives. Continue to live with purpose and maintain your goals for health and happiness.