Tips On How To Keep Healthy During This Lockdown

It has been over six weeks since the national lockdown and with no doubt it has affected our daily routine. Eating healthy and exercising regularly as we are used to has become impossible and our sleeping routines have changed, these cannot only affect your physical health but also your mental health and your ability to be productive during the day, so to prevent the possibilities of having long-term illnesses due to being unhealthy we can follow these tips:

• Nutrition – it is very important for one to have a healthy balanced diet that contains both fresh fruits and vegetables and most importantly drinking a lot of water, there’s nothing wrong with having a snack lduring the day but it would be of good benefit if it contained high-protein, healthy fat and fiber, since it’s the lockdown and we are so tempted to having a lot of junk food we can try and prevent that by setting meal times like when you’re at work or school in that way you are more in control over your diet.

• Sleep – it is very tempting to stay up until late at night knowing that you don’t have work to do in the morning but it is highly recommended that one sleeps at least 7-8 hours, not having enough rest can lead to serious health problems like stroke, heart disease and diabetes, now talking about productivity it is bound to happen that you won’t be as productive as you want during the day because you will be constantly tired so having enough rest at night you will have much time during the day to do stuff that you have longed to do.

• Physical activity – seems like a lot of people have put working-out on hold since gyms are closed but it is important to exercise because it can reduce stress and improve your mental health especially at this difficult time. Physical activities help to reduce the risk of having heart diseases, since we are at stage 4 of the lockdown, you can use the outdoor time allowance given to jog, cycle or walk to get some fresh breeze. To keep it safe there are a lot of online fitness programs that you can follow from home so to keep healthy.

• Controlling stress– at this difficult time we are prone to stress and anxiety but it is important to always stay positive, you can try and reduce stress by talking to people who you are very close to so take some time video call those ones that you are close to and free to open up to. Getting enough rest and doing some exercises like yoga and meditating will do, take a walk around your garden and do some breathing exercises it has been proven that nature is good for you mental health.

•Routine– We all have habits. Big or small, healthy or unhealthy, our habits combine to form routines that play out every day for us. Most of this is done without us even having to think. That’s why even though we understand the importance of having good habits, sometimes it’s tough to stick to a healthy daily routine. Finding and adopting the right daily routine will re-energize you and help you regain wasted time. Your mind and body will thank you for the decreased anxiety and extra care you’ve given it.

Written by: Itumeleng Mnisi