Being Locked down and trying to relax at home in the time of Covid-19 pandemic can be difficult. This long home quarantine can have detrimental effect on our mental and physical health. Recent polls and studies are already showing that this pandemic and the lockdown will bring long-term mental and physical health impacts.
To battle with this highly contagious virus, lockdown is by far the most effective way. But it is also important to note that this lockdown is striping people of the things they used to do to relax like going for a movie, having a walk in the park, going out with friends, going into a spa or massage parlor.
Here are some ways with which you can relax at home and manage this quarantine situation better
Organize your space/room/home
Chances are you must stay quarantined in your home for a long period due to Covid-19. If your personal space is cluttered or messy and the mess continuously rises, you will subconsciously know that there is more and more de-cluttering to be done. Stress builds upon itself and reaches a point where you just can’t bear it for long. Just devoting a few minutes every day to organize your space for working from home, your room, kitchen, or bathroom can drastically reduce your stress and help you relax at home.
A study by Dr. Ferrari from DePaul University, Chicago found a considerable connection between procrastination and clutter in people of all ages under experiment. Among older adults, clutter problems were shown to instigate life dissatisfaction.
Keep yourself active
Most of the fitness center, gym, and place where people usually go to have physical activities are closed. Having low or no physical activity for a prolonged period can have a seriously detrimental effect on overall physical and mental health. Consistent physical exercise will boost your heart rate, increase blood flow, and jump-start your metabolism and improve your mental health too.
A recent study published by Dr. Erica M. Jackson from Delaware State University on The Role of Exercise in Stress Management found that our body handles stress better when we are physically active. Frequent exercise combined with stress management program shown to be an effective relax at home technique.
150 minutes of moderately paced or 75 minutes of intensely paced aerobic exercises every week, or a combination of both is recommended by WHO. Now doing exercises during quarantine can be difficult, so here are some home exercises to stay as physically active as possible staying at home.
- Take short breaks. Do domestic chores, walk and dance around, play with your kids
- Do Yoga. Yoga helps to achieve good metabolism, better cardio health, increase flexibility, and muscle definition. Yoga gives a proper systematic approach to the wellness of body and mind.
- Breathing exercises will strengthen your lungs, deliver more oxygen to the body, reduce stress, and help you to relax.
- Online exercise programs. There is a long list of stay at home exercise programs designed by fitness enthusiasts, trainers, and therapists that you can simply download on your phone and start right away.
- Walk-in whatever small space you have and increase your step counts and try to touch the recommended level advised for your age, weight, and gender category.
Try meditating
For thousands of years, people have practices meditation for spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being. During meditation, brains can see increased activity in regions directly correlated with decreased anxiety and depression along with increased pain tolerance. It has been found to improve memory, self-awareness, and goal setting. Meditators are found with a higher level of alpha waves which have been shown to reduce feelings of negative mood, tension, sadness, and anger. Various celebrities like Kobe Byant, Katy Perry, Howard Stern, and Jerry Seinfeld all meditate to lift their mental and physical wellbeing. There are several types of meditation techniques available that you can try
- Mindfulness
- Shikantaza
- Vipassana
- Transcendental
- Sahaja Yoga Spiritual movement
- Huineng etc.
Meditation has no or very small space requirement which makes it one of the most suitable relax at home method for you.
Get a Massager
Many of us are working from home during this outbreak sitting in a chair looking at your computer all day. Even when you are not working you are watching movies, doing chores, and other strenuous activities that might strain your neck, back, shoulder and other parts of your body very easily as you are probably not doing enough exercise. As a result of these strain, you might develop bad posture which in turn make your condition much worse. A study by Dr. Mark Rapaport from Emory University has shown that regular massaging even in normal healthy individuals shown decreased production of stress hormones, arginine vasopressin, and cortisol. A regular massage twice a week has been found to increase the level of oxytocin in your brain. Oxytocin hormones are often linked with feeling good, happiness, relaxation, etc.
To relax at home, to watch a movie while you relax or even to work while you relax you can try different types of massagers depending upon body part in which you are feeling the tension, strain, or pain. There are several types of massagers available in the market that you can order online.
- Neck and Shoulder Massagers
- Handheld massagers
- Massage Chairs
- Massage guns
- Back Massagers
- Various massage tools
Indoor Gardening
It is an unquestionable fact that when you release yourself to nature you feel relaxed. All the stress that you have accumulated in your whole day suddenly goes away when you get closer to nature. Humans have an intrinsic connection with greenery, it makes us remember our roots. So at the time of this pandemic, if you can’t go to nature then you should bring nature to you. This might be the perfect time for you to start indoor gardening as an ample way to relax at home. You can try different types of plants like flowers, herbs, vegetables, and even fruits. You can get very creative with this too like using old plastic bottles, cans, jars to plant the seeds. You can use your food waste such as eggshells, tea leaves as nutrients for the plants. There are numerous DIY videos and even online courses too that can help you to get good at it. Overall you can create a great ambiance which will help you to relax at home.
Other ways to relax at home
- Try cooking for yourself. If you haven’t done it before it might seem hard but once you get a hang of it you can spend your time doing all sorts of cooking experiments.
- Read a book. In this time of technology, you probably have dropped the habit of reading. This might be the perfect time to start again. Get a cup of coffee, grab a book, and go to your comfort place to make it cozy. What can be more relaxing than that?
- Listen to your favorite music. You can also try relaxing nature music if are feeling a bit stressed.
- Try a new musical instrument. Being locked at home might be the best opportunity for you to learn a new musical instrument like Ukulele, violin, mouth organ, etc. Trying this not only you can relax but also get to learn a new thing
- If you have a furry friend then this is the best time to give the attention your pet deserves. If you don’t have one you can bring one home. Having a pet not only teaches you responsibility but also keeps your negative emotions in check and helps you to calm your mind.