How to lead a healthy lifestyle during the pandemic

The main way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is to maintain good hygiene habits like hand washing and wearing mask when going outside. And another way is by choosing a healthy lifestyle that supports the immune system.

How to do it? Well, through good eating habits, regular exercise and stress-free days. Here are importance of leading a healthy life and follow the following recommendations.

Healthy lifestyle: avoid eating out of anxiety

Anxiety can cause a person to engage in eating to calm negative emotions. However, they do not subside, and may even worsen. Some recommendations to overcome anxiety and lead a healthy life are:

• Check if you are actually hungry. If you are looking for food, think about whether your last meal was more than four hours ago. If you ate two hours or less ago, it is not hunger.
• Become aware of your emotions. Ask yourself two questions: Why am I looking for food? and how do i feel now
• Record how you feel in a notebook. It will help you identify the emotions that trigger your "hunger". This way you can anticipate difficult moments in front of food and overcome them in another way.
• Find other ways to handle negative emotions. For example, meditate, exercise, call a friend, etc.

• Leave the temptations away from home. Keep nutritious and healthy options on hand like fruits and vegetables. Find out here which foods help support your immune system.
• Eat slowly. Drop the fork between one bite and another; This will make it easier to tell when it's full.

Strategies to reduce stress

Here are some tips for managing negative emotions and achieving a healthy lifestyle:

• Do deep breathing exercises. Slowly inhale through the nose for two seconds; breathe out slowly through your mouth for four seconds. Repeat five times.
• Stay in the present. Stand in a quiet place and think of five things you can see, four you can feel, three you can hear, two you can smell, and one you can taste.
• Stretch the neck muscles. While sitting, tilt your head to the side, as if trying to get your right ear to touch your right shoulder. Hold the pose for 20 seconds and return to the center. Repeat the exercise to the left side.

• Make a thank you list. List the things you are thankful for right now. Appreciating what you have serves to change negative thoughts for feelings of well-being.

Physical activity for a healthy life

Creating a home training circuit is not complicated. Select three exercises you can do at home such as running in place, jumping, and doing sit-ups. Perform the exercises one after the other and repeat the circuit a few times each day.

Maintaining healthy exercise, nutrition, and sleep habits is challenging during this pandemic time, but these habits are critical for managing health. Engaging in some kind of physical activity and moderate routine is one of the best things for supporting a healthy immune system and managing stress. Try for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise daily, whether dancing, lifting weights, practicing yoga or aerobics at home, or taking a walk, run or cycling outside. If you do outdoors exercise, ensure you adhere to local stay-at-home orders and maintain a 6 foot or greater distance from others.

Maintaining healthy nutrition habits should also be one of the priorities. This includes consuming appropriate amounts of fruits and vegetables, limiting processed food, drink more water and minimizing sweets and sugary drinks. 

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and a good immune system is a comprehensive task. In fact, getting enough sleep and exercising is proven to make good eating decisions.