How to Stay Healthy and Sane When You're Stuck at Home
/Whether you have Coronavirus orders or an illness keeping you from being outdoors, here’s how to keep a schedule to stay healthy and sane when you’re stuck at home.
There’s a lot of change going on right now.
We’re all inside a lot more than we’re used to. And you may also be inside, sharing close space, with more people than you’re accustomed. Or you may be alone, isolated from family and friends.
With this new norm, it’s important to practice ways to keep your mind and body strong. So I thought it would be a good time to talk about how to stay healthy and sane when you’re stuck at home.
Physical Ways to Stay Healthy When You’re Stuck at Home
Create a Schedule
You’re likely working from home if you’re even working at all. So your schedule has become more fluid and you no longer have a time to be up and out the door. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t stick to a schedule.
Creating structure in your day offers a good routine to follow to help with sanity and keeping healthy habits. A schedule will help create some normalcy in your life as well as assist your brain from running too far amok.
Try and include as many items below as you can into your new coronavirus schedule.
Set an Alarm and Get Good Sleep
Just because you don’t have to be at the office or drop the kids at school first thing doesn’t mean you shouldn’t set an alarm.
Waking up at the same time every day is helpful for your body’s overall health.
Your body likes a schedule. It likes to eat at the same time every day as well as wake up and go to sleep at the same time.
If you’re having trouble sleeping, getting up at a designated time each morning can help you get back on track.
And sleep is something you want to make sure you’re getting plenty of when you’re stuck at home. Here’s how to optimize your sleep.
Eat Meals at Set Times
As I mentioned above, your body likes a routine, and this includes the time you eat.
There were two studies that showed irregular mealtime may put you at risk of cardiovascular issues and obesity.
So try and stick to a regular mealtime. Having a set time to eat each day will keep you on track for better health and help you avoid grazing all day.
If you find yourself eating for comfort A LOT more than usual, read about ways to combat emotional eating.
Exercise
Your gym is closed and you’re not playing any group sports right now, but that doesn’t mean you can’t stay active. Many local fitness centers are offering online classes.
If you’re a member of Class Pass, they’ve frozen their memberships but are still allowing you to tap into their database of online classes.
The Peloton app is now free for 90 days and includes much more than just biking. There’s yoga, weight training, and running classes you can check out.
Modo Yoga is offering free online classes on Instagram for a limited time.
And you know YouTube has a wealth of free info and fitness.
I put together a huge collection of free online classes here as well.
It’s also a good idea to get outside for some fresh air every day if you can. Of course, you want to stay 6’ from anyone else, but go for a walk and get some sunshine which will also give you some bonus immune-boosting vitamin D.
Eat Well
One of the best things you can do to stay healthy and sane while you’re stuck at home during the coronavirus outbreak is to eat well.
Food is one of your best lines of defense in keeping your body strong.
I’ve been finding the produce fairly well stocked at the grocery stores I’ve been going to, and if it’s not near you, check out my post on the best healthy food delivery services. Most people are buying packaged food and while it’s important to have some shelf-stable products in the house, it’s even more important to load up on fresh fruits and vegetables. These are nature’s vitamins.
Processed food, grains, and refined sugar can lead to inflammation in the body, which weakens the system and makes you more susceptible to illness. So keep eating leafy greens and vegetables for good overall health.
Hydrate
Besides eating well, you also want to make sure you stay healthy by drinking lots of clean water.
Keeping your body hydrated will help fight off any potential viruses or infections. It also makes sure to deliver key nutrients to cells and keeps organs doing their job.
So keep a big glass of purified water by you at all times and make sure you’re drinking enough to stay hydrated.
Practice Self Care
You’ve heard about self-care before but are you practicing it yet?
Now, more than ever, self-care is critical.
You’re juggling a lot from worrying about work, family, friends, food, and the economy, so make sure you schedule time for relaxation.
Try and enjoy some of the downtime. Don’t waste it drowning in worry.
Have Fun
Being stuck at home doesn’t have to be a drag. Make sure you find time to have some fun.
Fun can range from spontaneous dance parties, karaoke, coloring, sewing, cooking, reading, playing games, listening to podcasts, learning something new, or creating something new.
If you’re stuck at home with other people, take turns suggesting themed fun nights to keep things interesting.
Also check out my list of 75 free online classes, tours, and activities you can do when you’re stuck at home.
Mental Ways to Stay Healthy When You’re Stuck at Home
Stay in the Moment
With so much new information coming out every day on the coronavirus, it’s hard not to spiral or future trip on what may happen down the line. The thing is, no one knows how long or short this thing is going to be, so it’s important to stay in the moment.
It’s impossible to predict the future so keep your focus on where you are right now.
Resting your attention on the present will help your mind stay focused on what you need to do every day, like all of these things on this list.
Watch Your Thoughts
You have 60-80,000 thoughts per day. And lately, many of those thoughts have probably been spiraling on what’s going to happen with the coronavirus. You can’t control what happens with the virus, but you can control your thoughts about it all.
Stressing and imagining worse case scenarios will not help you feel better. It will increase your stress, which leads to decreased immunity.
Don’t let your runaway thoughts run the show.
Instead, just notice your thoughts. If you’re catastrophizing, come back to the present. Focus on breathing and what you can control.
Meditate
Meditation is simply a way to get into better relationship with your thoughts. You don’t let your thoughts own you. You get some space from them and reduce reactivity.
One way you can do this is by sitting still, or even walking mindfully, and simply breathing.
Instead of focusing on your thoughts, you focus on your breath. You watch the inhale and exhale.
Counting your breaths can be helpful like the 4-7-8 breathing method by Andrew Weil. You inhale for 4, hold for 7, and exhale for 8. Repeat a few times and should soon find yourself more relaxed.
Have Gratitude
It’s hard not to get sucked into the endless news update on the coronavirus and fill yourself with negative thoughts.
So one thing I like to do daily is practice gratitude.
Having appreciation for what you have in your life is so much more powerful, and enjoyable, than focusing on what you don’t have.
You could have family and friends join you by sharing each day what they’re grateful for. The more you focus on what’s good, the more you’ll see.
Connect with Others
During all of this social isolation, it’s more important than ever to maintain contact with people.
We’re all going through this together so share stories or helpful tips you’re using to get through.
Texting is an easy way to stay in touch, but phone calls and video calls are even more impactful.
I’ve been doing virtual video calls with friends and we’re swapping our favorite book titles and TV shows. Then you can follow-up to talk about each.
While you may be physically alone going through this, you can still connect with others to stay healthy and sane while stuck at home.
Establish Boundaries
While connection is important, boundaries can be equally important.
Many of you are now working with a partner at home and some kids in the house 24/7 as well. That can be a lot of together time. That’s why it’s important to establish some boundaries.
These boundaries might be specific work hours when you need to focus, or it could be a self-care hour when you need uninterrupted time in the bath or to do some of the things on this list.
Talking about your need for some time and space in advance will help you avoid any run-ins when tensions are already high.
Get Help
If you’re feeling really overwhelmed, unable to focus or sleep, then talk to a professional.
As a Certified Transformational Health and Nutrition Coach, I work (virtually!) with people on everything that fuels the mind and body. That can range from the best food to stay healthy to relaxing meditations to get you out of your head and into your body.
If you’d like more information about how to feel good in your mind and body during this time, reach out for help.
