Combat Stress, Boost Immunity And Increase Productivity During Lockdown

21 days Lockdown may sound pretty long period, isn’t it? And, for some of us, it won’t be a piece of cake. You might experience a rollercoaster of emotions – fear, boredom, frustration, anger, irritation, indifference, for some a feeling of exhilaration, and many other emotions.

It’s not a time to binge eat and binge on Netflix but a crucial time to be more productive and work on the things you have been wanting to do from time or has always been in your bucket list. You may turn your boredom into creativity, fulfill your passion, and enhance your relationship with yourself.

As it is rightly said, ‘Isolation is a way to know yourself’. It is time to look within and know your inner depths. At times, elevation requires isolation.

So, curtail those obsessions developed due to constant, panic-stricken rumors on WhatsApp and other social media regarding the statistical updates of the novel COVID-19.

11 Helpful Tips to Improve Your Health & Overall Well-Being:

Here are some interesting tips to help to pave a way for your health and well being:

1. Rediscover Yourself: Lockdown has paved the way for self-awareness. Recognize your strengths, weakness, and irrational beliefs and injunctions that have always affected your life. Work on your weaknesses, irrational beliefs by rationalizing them. Modify the script of your life with self-awareness.
2. Work on Your Relationships: This is an excellent opportunity which God has given to those who were having a hard time to win over the love of their family, to rebuild the trust, enjoy healthy family communication by giving them your full attention, and let out the emotions. Spend quality time with your family.
3. Be Passionate: Work on the ideas you have always had in your To-Do Bucket List Do the work which you are passionate about. Express yourself with all those ideas which you always wanted to implement.
4. Maintain a Journal/Dairy: Start writing your thoughts, express them through pictures and doodles, and show gratitude towards what all you have achieved so far in life. Write your journal of happiness, motivations, success inspiration, failures, sadness, fears, and plans to work on.
5. Connect with Yourself: Be a Healer for a lonely soul. Have a telephonic conversation or a virtual chat with a senior citizen you know, your loved ones, friends, or someone isolated alone at his home. Enquire about their health and share some funny, entertaining stories.

Most importantly, let your parents, who were left out emotionally by you at some point in life, share their experiences of ups and downs with you now, as it will help you recreate and reorganize your plans.  Make them feel relaxed, loved, and cared for by empathizing with them.

6. Focus on Your Food: Focus on your meals and what you eat. Do not just binge on foods in front of the TV. Create a healthy meal plan with your family that should include fruits, veggies, nuts, beans, and lean meats. Keep yourself hydrated with water always. Do not overburden your stomach. Eat only 80% of the appetite to maintain a healthy weight. Foods rich in Vitamin C and certain seeds, such as Kalonji, flax seeds, and pumpkin seeds, help to boost your immunity but do not take it in excess. Anything in excess is a poison.
7. Learn Something New: You can start learning a new course online of your interest to enhance your knowledge. Or, you can learn a new language to sharpen your brain, as cognitive exercises help keep your brain active. Many universities provide free online courses on platforms, such as Coursera by Stanford University, edX by Harvard University, etc.
8. Make and Follow a Healthy Timetable: Always remember, early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. Sleeping early at night and rising early after the sunrise enhances your physical and mental productivity. Make sure that you have a good rest and a minimum of 6 to 8 hours of sleep per night. Create a timetable with the family of your daily breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, activities to be done, and sleep.
9. Learn to Cook: Learn how to cook or upgrade your cooking. Cooking is the most essential and creative skill to learn and work on, and it is extremely helpful in times of crisis, curfews, etc. You can express your love for your family through creative ways of cooking. And, if you are not cooking then help your family with cleaning and maintaining the kitchen. It strengthens the bond.
10. Practice Relaxation Techniques, Yoga, Meditation, Tai Chi, & Other Techniques: Learning and following various relaxation techniques, meditation, yoga, and tai chi helps to combat the stress, calms you down, de-stress your mind soothingly, sharpens your mind, reduces your blood pressure, activates your body’s natural relaxation response, and enhances your muscular strength. According to a research study, these techniques tweak the physical and mental health in many ways. It reduces stress, anxiety, and depression by increasing the volume in certain areas of the brain, thereby improving the immune system. Following the right meditation techniques overtime not only can boost the mood but also can shift the gene expression.

Remember, one size does not fit all. So, to generate balanced energy and smooth functioning of your immune system, you must be aware of the technique that resonates in harmony with you and your lifestyle. Some trial and error may be required to find what works best for you. Practice it regularly for improving your overall health and wellbeing.

11. Watch and Read to Learn and Discover the Beauty of Life: Watch narratives, biographical, or motivational movies, such as The Pursuit Of Happiness, Life Is Beautiful, Moneyball, Taare Zameen Par, 3 Idiots, etc. Read motivational books, such as Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. It offers a way to transcend the suffering and find significance in the art of living with hope & resilience through the writer’s experiences in a Nazi Concentration Camp. It’s a very thin book so this is a good book to start on for beginners at reading.

Following all these activities will make a huge difference in your future life.

Life gives you back what you give it. So, be an instrument of service as leaders begin within.

Being at home and fulfill the Social Responsibility you are contributing to saving a life. Remember small things can powerfully change the world. So, do not waste this precious time nor let it go in vain.

• Written by Dr. Falak Khan, Associate doctor to Dr. Rajesh Shah, M.D.