Isolation and quarantine weren’t what you had in mind for 2020. It’s a plot twist right out of a Hollywood movie, but instead of being in the frontlines, you’re at home waiting for good news.
Social media posts promote quarantine as a guarantor for your health, and it’s best not to take it for granted. However, there are other health concerns you may overlook while staying in the safety of your home.
Staying Sane
The current crisis requires that we stay up to date with the latest happenings in our area. The trouble, though, with endless scrolling on your news feed is that you can overdo it. Anxiety tends to sky-rocket when all you hear are “death tolls” and “confirmed cases”. The exaggerated and false news circulating in social media further worsens it. This can lead to disrupted sleep patterns, changing appetites and bad habits. Checking in only once or twice allows your mind space to breathe from all the worrying you’ve been doing. It also reduces stress on your eyes from digital fatigue. Spare the use of your new smart glasses for more profitable activities like work or online classes.
The cost of abusing your eyes may not be your only concern when you tune in to devices all day.
Staying Active
It’s tempting to maximise your Netflix subscription and forget about the pandemic for a couple of hours, isn’t it? The downside to this kind of distraction is physical inactivity. Lying down or sitting for long periods of time can take its toll on your body. Staying active boosts your immune system – your first line of defense against the virus. Do some stretches in-between episodes of your favorite show to warm up those joints. Better yet, start the fitness regime you didn’t have the time to commit to before the quarantine. Also, keep your emergency stack of chips inside the closet for now. Comfort foods can only do so much to keep our spirits up and there could be some things you can’t deal with only by sweating.
Staying Connected
They’re often interchanged, but mental and emotional health do have a difference. A good way to stay emotionally healthy during these times is by connecting to your family and friends on social media. Even brief conversations about your worries can do wonders in releasing pent-up anxiety. It may also be extremely important for the recipient just to receive contact from someone, albeit online.
Staying in touch with the right group of people lessens your sense of isolation and can empower you to spend quarantine time more healthily.
Staying True
Everyone’s struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic and no one can blame you for having bad days. Don’t give up, though. One of the simplest but most effective ways to ease its strain is to remain as mentally, physically and emotionally healthy as possible during the quarantine.
Health, after all, is a public matter and in this difficult time, respecting your body is your way of protecting the community you live in.
