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The unprecedented pandemic that the world is going through at the moment has put an unbelievable strain on people’s lives as they know it. This has resulted in a large change of how people go about living. However, despite the concerns, we must find a way to find the good in this situation. Both our minds and bodies can benefit so long as we use them well and don’t succumb to panic. There are ways for both to be cared for at this time, and some of these ways are what we are going to go over here.
One of the most important things that can benefit people at this time is taking care of our bodies. Exercise has always been important, but now more than ever it can provide a relief from the seemingly endless monotony of working and living from home. Looking to regularly get outside and exercise both benefits your mind and body. These can be anything from walks around the corner or regular runs for distance. If the area around isn’t great for either of those or the weather is not cooperating, then there are plenty of exercises that can be done indoors that help keep you just as fit. Even without exercise equipment like dumbbells, rowing machines or treadmills there are plenty of exercises that can be done in order to regularly get those arms and legs moving. Push-ups, planks, crunches and squats are just some of the exercises that can get the blood flowing without even needing to leave the house. If you don’t even know where to begin in terms of setting up a workout, many gyms and other fitness programs have gone online in order to adjust to the closure of their physical spaces.
Another physical element that can help in this time of stress is sleep. Poor sleep is linked to an increased risk of heart disease which is reason enough to aim for 7-8 hours’ sleep a night at the best of times. Going to bed regularly at the same time and waking up at similar times helps get the body into a sort of flow. This can be achieved by going to bed an hour early and disconnecting from phones or electronics. Just a quiet hour that is spent reading a book can really make falling asleep much easier. Avoiding sleep stimulants like coffee, candy or other sugary foods and drinks also really improves both the length and quality of sleep patterns. Again, exercising during the day can also make sleep that much easier. Good sleep can really make a difference during the day.
Another key aspect of keeping a high level of health during the quarantine has less to do with the physical aspect of the body and more to do with the mental side. There are a good few ways to keep the mind healthy and active during this lockdown.
Intellectual stimulation is one way. Using the large amounts of time that many people now have to pick up a new skill or invest it in some interest that they have had for a while can really pay off on the mind. For example, with the internet growing ever more constant in our lives, the demand for those who are well-versed in a variety of programs is ever growing. The Adobe Creative Cloud apps like Photoshop, InDesign and Premiere Pro are just some examples of programs that employers are looking for. These allow for aspiring editors of photos, websites, magazines and videos to really start down that path while they stay home due to the quarantine.
There are other ways to go about taking advantage of many of the free learning opportunities being offered online at this point in time. The Ivy League schools (Harvard, Princeton, Yale and the like) are all offering free, online courses due to the onset of this pandemic. While one would need to pay to get a “certification” from these courses, that is not actually necessary to take them. These topics can cover such things as religion, programming, personal finance, business finance, politics and more. These can really provide a boost for those who are looking to extend their skills during this quarantine. They provide mental stimulation over a period of time depending on how long the course is. Then, once this quarantine is over and the virus is relatively under control, you will have a new set of skills from one of these college courses. Plus, wouldn’t it be fun to say that you took a class at Harvard?
Of course, this does not just extend to increasing technical skills for the online world. Many interests and skills can be developed at this time. Perhaps a certain period of history has always been interesting to you but there has never been the time to actually explore it on a deeper level, never time to really see the strings and bury yourself into the stories of the period that bring out the fascinating quirks of humans and our interactions with one another. Well now there is plenty of time to increase that knowledge with the help of the many documentaries and history-based YouTube channels that offer an abundance of information for free.
This is obviously a stressful time for many people. It is time to take care of oneself at any cost, with both physical and mental aspects of the person being vital. So, take a moment and think about how the aforementioned health considerations (both physical and mental) could help in this strange time that the world is going through.
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