A lot of us are spending a lot more time at home these days. What with the COVID – 19 situation companies are encouraging their people to work from home, it’s likely more now than ever that you’ve seen the inside of your own house more than you care to remember.
But spending time at home may mean less time to hit the outdoors, less opportunity to walk to work and fewer ways to achieve our fitness goals. But this shouldn’t be so. There are lots of things you can do while at home to maintain good health – that you may not be able to do when working out of the house.
Here are some examples.
Stay hydrated
Drinking enough water keeps your body hydrated and strong enough to fight infections. Being at home may actually lead to you drinking more water, as making so many coffees may lose its appeal once you have no-one to stand and chat to while doing it.
If you want to take things a step further, consider tracking your water intake using apps designed for that purpose. For a lot of people, drinking water is a problem. Adding natural flavours such as fruits syrups or quash in delicious flavours like lemon, lime, and orange will make the water easy to drink.
Eat lots of fruits and vegetables
It can be difficult crunching on those fruits and vegetables with the supervisor and colleagues looking on, but you can do so in the comfort of your own home without worrying about what anyone thinks.
Fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins and nutrients to keep the body healthy, fights infections and toxins, and is a great addition to your daily meal. All fruits and vegetables are good for the body, and experts recommend that you consume the correct serving size of fruit and veg every day.
Make your own healthy lunches
Staying at home means that you can eat home-cooked meals rather than the fast food and easy lunches you may be used to while working from the office. The first step is to stock up your kitchen with all the raw food and ingredients you need.
Of course, it can be difficult to follow a prepared meal plan when you are used to living on coffee and snacks, but following a proper meal schedule and filling it with fresh, homemade lunches and snacks will help:
- Prevent overeating
- Regulate meal consumption, and
- Ensure that you eat properly balanced meals.
While you spend time at home, avoid the temptation to order take-out or processed food. In fact, this is your time to make up for your shortfall of real food. It will do a lot for your health.
Take care of your health
Spending time at home gives you the opportunity to do some of the things you may not be able to do when you have to go out every day. For example, you can take short naps on your lunch break to boost your energy levels and enhance productivity. You can also take short exercise breaks in-between tasks to improve blood flow and stamina, activities you may not be able to do at the office.
Taking care of your health is easier when you are away from the hustle and bustle of office life, but it is not enough just to take power rests and breaks. You should also look at investing in a health insurance plan so that you can always have access to professional health if something goes wrong, or if you are feeling the mental (perhaps even physical) strain of staying at home for long periods of time. Should you for any reason need medical care, you can get it quickly and ensure you are getting the best possible care.
Quit smoking
You may think staying at home is a great opportunity to indulge in your bad habits. However, this should actually be an opportunity to quit. Smoking is a dangerous habit. You may be tempted to smoke more now that you are at home and left to your own devices, especially if you are feeling the stress.
However, smoking has several dangerous health effects, especially cancer. So, the sooner you quit, the better. If you are serious about maintaining good health while staying at home, quitting, smoking should be on top of your to-do list.
If you spend the bulk of your day at home, try incorporating some or all of the above ideas into your routine and see if you will not experience a huge boost in your overall health. Being stuck at home all the time isn’t good for your health, we all know that we lack in exercise and social interaction which can be detrimental to your health, so act now to ensure that this doesn’t happen.