Stay Healthy and Productive During Social Distancing

In the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has asked people to engage in social distancing to avoid the spread of Covid-19 infection. While social distancing can help keep you healthy, it also might drive some of you a little crazy. There are several ways to stay healthy and productive during social isolation. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Structure Your Day with Healthy Habits

Our day-to-day schedules are so hardwired that any change seems complicated. The rules and guidelines some governments are imposing, impacting people’s daily routines and uprooting business as usual. Don’t be stressed about something that is out of your control. Be smart with your energy so that you remain productive (Avery Blank,2020). While the pandemic situation has been scary and life-threatening, you receive a bit of a gift – a restart switch.

Your usual schedule, your baseline programming, has been interrupted by the new normal. As you reboot and start going back online, it is time to upgrade your software and create new programming and different rituals (Garth Davis, MD, 2020). Consider recreating basic habits that good for your body and mind. Getting enough sleep, eating reasonably healthy, and getting proper exercise can help your body stay fit and also keep your mental health.

Keeping a routine going as much as possible is the best way to stay healthy and productive during a social distancing. Try to eating meals at regular times, sleeping and waking, and exercising at set times, and maintaining social contact. Unstructured time can create boredom, spikes in anxiety, or depression, which can lead to unhealthy patterns of coping (Alice G. Walton, 2020).

Drinking plenty of water is an important habit you should adopt if you are not already doing it. The latest research offers a new reason to pay attention, especially under our current circumstances (David DiSalvo,2020). Sugar looms large in the lockdown because you are sitting in your homes surrounded by an endless supply of snacks, and many of them aren’t very healthy. Drinking plenty of water can help manage the effects of that sugar.

Spring Cleaning

Social distancing can be a factor of advanced spring cleaning. Cleaning is the best way to stay healthy and productive during social distancing. Scientists at the Princeton University Neuroscience Institute showed that clutter causes us to lose focus and have less cognitive function. Another study from the Current Psychology journal found that people with too much clutter in their homes were more likely to procrastinate.

It’s time to get into all of those nooks and crannies you’ve been ignoring during your normal day. Do a little research for the best organizational methods for your space, too. You were guaranteed to feel better like you’ve achieved something amazing. Start simple! Try tackling one room at a time. Cleaning is also a good exercise for your body. Chores you do around the house can burn calories and stretch and tone muscles if you do them correctly.

Intensity is the key. More steps and more movements are what you’re going after. To get more benefits, speed up the time in which you do cleaning. Here are a few cleaning tasks that double as workouts if you do it for 30 minutes per session:

1. Dusting – burn 109 calories
2. Vacuuming – burn 96 calories
3. Washing the kitchen floor – burn 90 calories
4. Cleaning the bathroom – burn 79 calories
5. Cleaning windows – burn 79 calories
6. Cleaning oven and hob – burn 79 calories

Gardening

According to Hillside, a mental health facility in Georgia, gardening has many psychological benefits, including improving your mood and relieving stress and anxiety. Moreover, the added benefits of increased vitamin D exposure once the seedlings are transplanted outdoors. Smell the flowers. Flowers are nature’s work of art. They come in all shapes and sizes and scents. Stop once in a while to admire their beauty and fragrance.

Sunshine can have a tremendous calming effect. Go to your garden for a few minutes during your break. Sit on a bench, close your eyes, and enjoy the warmth of the sun. If you can’t go outside, gazing out the window for a couple of minutes can be almost as good. Look at the trees, birds, and any other critters you can spot. If you can’t go out, open a window for a few minutes. Breathe fresh air. Feel nature on your face and skin.

Exposure to nature makes you feel better emotionally and good for your physical wellbeing. If you like gardening, that’s the perfect excuse to get moving. Move more. Use smartwatches and fitness trackers with a feature that reminds you to move every hour if you’ve been still. Don’t sit for many hours on end hunched over a keyboard. It’s not a viable option in the long term. Don’t skip gardening to stay healthy and productive during a social distancing.

Stay connected

Catching up with family and friends will help you kick any sense of isolation that social distancing may bring. If you have some names on the list of people you’ve meant to reach out to, shoot them a call, an email, or schedule a video chat. They’re likely in need of some company, too. There’s no doubt you see numerous invites to hangouts, dance parties, concerts, and other fun things over video conferencing.

While it’s hard to keep up, be sure to get the human connection you need while honoring the physical distancing and health recommendations from experts and your local government. Feeling isolated is a typical response when you’re learning or working by yourself, especially if you’ve been used to collaborating and chatting with others in person. We are fortunate that there are a lot of digital ways to stay in touch with others.

Social distancing can be a shock and challenging, but it is temporary. Stuck at home is neither bad nor good. It’s all about your choices on how to counter it. You should be healthy and productive during social distancing. There will be an “after” when crowds are allowed. Until then, keeping yourself happy and healthy, and doing your part for the community around you can be essential goals.

Do not worry about maintaining your home cleanliness and landscape once you started to get busy working outside of your home again. Atalian team can keep your home and garden neat, tidy, and well-maintained with the help of our professional cleaners and gardeners. Our cleaning service line and grounds maintenance team can provide a complete range of professional cleaning and associated services adapted to the needs of each client. Call us for more info!