Lockdowns, closing non-essential businesses, and canceling certain activities were necessary to try and slow the spread of COVID-19. It reduced in-person contact, which lowered the risks of someone contracting the coronavirus and spreading it to others at home or in the workplace. However, what wasn’t considered, was the impact that staying home would have on everyone’s physical and emotional well-being.
Individuals that were used to leading an active and healthy lifestyle had no choice but to transition to an isolated and sedentary life. They sit for eight hours in their home office. Then they lounge around watching television and gorging on their favorite foods in their spare time. After doing this for a year, people are struggling with everything from weight gain and depression to body aches and a weakened immune system.
Practical Solutions
If nothing is done about the effects of a sedentary lifestyle, mental illnesses and life-altering health conditions will be the next pandemic. Fortunately, there are practical ways to make some changes.
Improve Your Nutrition
When you’re dealing with overwhelming emotions in a situation you can’t control, it’s common to turn to unhealthy foods to cope. Be that as it may, improper nutrition can cause several health problems. You can experience everything from weight gain to diabetes and heart disease. Therefore, you need to improve your nutrition.
No one is asking you to be perfect, but consuming more of what your body needs can help counteract the effects of a sedentary lifestyle. Incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your diet. Find healthy alternatives to your favorite snacks. Lastly, be mindful of your portions to maintain a healthy weight.
Get Active
Lack of physical activity impacts more than your weight. It can also lead to problems with vital organs like your heart. Although you’re not commuting to work, running errands with the kids, or participating in normal hobbies and activities, you have to stay active.
You can schedule a morning or evening walk with the family, join a virtual fitness class, or find the space in your home to complete your own workouts. Other ways to stay active include dancing while cleaning, going up and down the stairs a few times a day, or having a fun-filled day with your kids at the park.
Get An Adjustable Desk
For individuals working from home, sitting at the desk for hours can harm your neck, back, and eyes. In the workplace, you had to stand to service customers or walk around to talk to coworkers and access office equipment and supplies. The same isn’t true at home. You simply sit for hours.
One way to counteract the effects of sitting for hours is to purchase a height adjustable desk. This is a desk that can easily transition from a sitting to a standing position in an instant. It can help improve circulation and reduce your risk of life-threatening conditions like diabetes or heart disease. Not to mention, an adjustable desk has helped many employees be more productive.
Make Safe Plans
Staying indoors all day makes it easy to sit in one place for hours. You start to feel isolated, bored, lonely, and frustrated. The best way to resolve this problem is to make plans. Although you can’t carry on with life, as usual, you can do things to inspire you to get up and get moving. Invite a relative or friend over for lunch on the patio, schedule a play date for your kids, or take a day trip with your family. Each of these activities requires you to get up, get dressed, get active, and get out of the house for a while. Just remember to wear a face mask, keep a safe distance, and wash your hands regularly.
No one could have imagined how sheltering in place and limiting activities would impact their physical and mental health. Although necessary to shield yourself from the pandemic, there are other issues that need to be addressed. Use the above recommendations to counteract the effects of a sedentary lifestyle so that you have the mental and physical capacity to continue living a happy and healthy life.
