Taking care of your well-being was always important. But, in the current times where the entire world is under the threat of novel COVID-19, it is more than ever crucial to take care of your internal and external health. Though many of you must be taking all the precautions necessary to avoid being infected by the virus, still many factors are disrupting your physical and mental health. It is the work from home scenarios. All of you are stranded in your homes, meaning your mind-body balance may have been disturbed.
Laziness, unhealthy eating patterns, irregular sleeping and waking patterns, and add to this the surmounting stress caused by being confined to the spaces for almost 5 months and more have impacted the mind-body balance negatively.
“One of the most important systems contributing to our daily wellbeing is the body’s internal biological clock. This clock keeps our body and our behaviour synchronized with the 24-hour cycle of the light and dark, “says Professor Grey Murray, Director of the Centre of Mental Health.
Regular routines help keep the body clock running smoothly. The disrupted body clock is related to many health issues, like depression, diabetes, obesity.
Here are some tips for maintaining the regularity of the body clock so as to improve your body-mind balance.
- Set up a Routine: A daily routine is important whether you are working from home, in quarantine or have started going to your workplace. Set up a routine for yourself.
- Wakeup and Sleep Same Time Every day: Getting up and sleeping at the same time everyday helps stabilize the body clock.
- Spend Time Outdoors: Nature is healing. Also, your body needs sunlight. In the morning and evening, spend a few minutes in the park. If not, soak the sunlight by opening the windows and maintaining a garden in your home. Bring a mix of potted plants, like air-purifying, red flowers, succulents, medicinal plants.
- Exercise Regularly: It’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of work and daily chores when you are stranded at home. But make time for exercise. It could be just a 15 min walk, but exercising your body is a step towards a healthy life.
- Eat healthy meals at proper time: During the lockdown, you must have tried your hands on every possible snack you could. Isn’t it? But eat healthy meals, at least one healthy meal a day. Also, eat your meals at the same time every day. Avoid binge-eating.
- Avoid naps during the day: Long naps during the day makes it hard to fall asleep at night. By all means, avoid it. If you are taking a nap, restrict it to 30 minutes. Avoid blue light from screens; it suppresses hormones that help in sleep.
- Stay in Touch with Family and Friends: The global pandemic has made us realize the importance of staying connected with family and friends. Keep in touch with them through various ways.
Incorporate all these tips into your daily routine, and you shall live a healthy life.
