Practice whole health at home during the COVID-19 outbreak

COVID-19 has significantly changed how all of us are living our lives. As cases continue to rise across the United States, it’s more important than ever for everyone to stay home, unless of course they’re doing essential work.

Shifting your lifestyle

staying-home

Doing your part

Staying home is the most important contribution each of us can make to flatten the curve, ensure our healthcare system can handle the surge in cases and ultimately save lives.

You can stay up to date on coronavirus by checking out our coronavirus advisory page.

cheridan

Maintaining health

But, staying home isn’t easy because it’s such a dramatic shift from our day-to-day lives. All of us are craving some normalcy right now. That’s why we worked with Vera whole health coach Cheridan Bryant to develop some practical advice for practicing whole health at home.

Manage stress and anxiety

CHERIDAN’S ADVICE:

“Stress and anxiety are big ones, especially when we're not certain about what's going to happen. Our brains always want to have an ending, so we sometimes spin into scenarios ... It's definitely really important for people to be able to focus on the here and now in order to control that a little bit and to not spin into the what ifs.”

More information on how to manage stress and anxiety can be found on the official CDC website.

PRACTICAL STEPS:

Acknowledge what’s happening and take the time to process it.

  • Talk about the situation with your family, roommates, or friends — either in person or virtually.
  • Stay up to date on the news (in healthy increments!) and learn how you can keep yourself and your loved ones safe.

Set goals so that you remain productive in your day-to-day life.

  • Make a list of the things you want to achieve each day and check them off as you complete them.
  • Establish a routine, even if it’s very different from your normal one.

Practice mindfulness

CHERIDAN’S ADVICE:

“Mindfulness is the practice of stopping, breathing, and being present in the moment. It can be very simple. When you feel the cues in your body showing that you're feeling anxious or stressed, take a deep breath and really stop what you're doing and just pay attention to the world around you. Recognizing that everything's okay in the present moment can really help you get grounded and calm yourself down in that moment.”

PRACTICAL STEPS:

Take a moment to be still and present.

  • Observe what's going on around you.
  • Be introspective and observe what's going on inside of you.

Practice mindfulness moments at home with our mindfulness video series.

Don't sacrifice on quality sleep

CHERIDAN’S ADVICE:

“The best approach is to consistently go to bed at the same time and get up at the same time. This isolation time  can be an opportunity to adjust your body to get seven to nine hours of sleep (or whatever your body needs).The recommendation is to start a plan and stick with it. When we go back to normal at some point, your body can adjust to that, too.”

PRACTICAL STEPS:

  • Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day — watch out for fluctuating times on the weekend.
  • Give yourself time to adjust to sleeping 7 to 9 hours, if you aren't used to it.

Eat healthy and nutritious food

CHERIDAN’S ADVICE:

“There's that sneaky little fridge that's right next door to us and there's a lot of boredom going on. So, the thing to remember about that is we're all okay. We don't need to eat consistently due to boredom. If you notice that you're eating a little bit much, maybe take a mindfulness moment and figure out: Why am I eating, am I really hungry? Is this actually satisfying me?”

PRACTICAL STEPS:

  • If you find yourself walking towards the fridge, take a mindfulness moment to ask why you're eating.
  • Set some rules for eating as a household, like: after 8pm, fruits and veggies only. Make sure they are rules you can follow!

Stay active with movement and exercise

CHERIDAN’S ADVICE:

“You can exercise with anything. Even if you don't have weights, there are online sites out there that will give you some tips on other things you can do. Even stretching or just doing something to move your body, whether it's getting steps in some way or doing videosStudios are even offering virtual things that you can do … While there are regulations that we need to follow for the states, in a lot of  places you can still go outside. Just be smart about it and make sure that you're staying away from people, and you can still enjoy the fresh air that might actually help you as well.”

PRACTICAL STEPS:

  • Find an online exercise you can do while at home. Your normal fitness studio may be producing virtual workouts, start your search there.
  • If your state regulations allow it, go outside! A walk or a run in the fresh air will do wonders for you.
  • Take a break from the computer frequently to walk around your home.

Stay connected with your family and friends

CHERIDAN’S ADVICE:

“There's that challenge of not feeling connected. There are many virtual platforms that allow you to connect with more than one person. Some of them are free. So, look into that. Picking up your cell phone and calling somebody can help. For me personally, I always say, "Oh, I'm going to make sure I call my grandma once a week," and I haven't. But now that we have more time, you're not commuting, you have a little bit more time on your hands so picking up that phone, doing that FaceTime if you have an iPhone, writing letters. That sounds weird, but even little things like that can keep people connected and feeling special. Then there's the other part of feeling too connected. Many people are isolated with their spouse and kids and are feeling a little overwhelmed with that.”

PRACTICAL STEPS:

  • Pick up the phone and call someone, or maybe even write a letter.
  • Use FaceTime or Zoom to organize a social hour.
  • Acknowledge if you have too much connection with the people you're living with, and make time to be alone.