Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, more and more people find new ways to adopt healthier habits, from starting new diets from improving their fitness routine at home. They are motivated to take control over their health even if they start with small changes that can drive bigger improvements. When the outside world is closed, people chose to go inside and focus on self-care.
The changes that this pandemic caused in our everyday schedules, disrupted just about every aspect of our life. Still people continue to engage in physical activity, using online resources or doing calorie-burning chores. They understood the importance of doing any form of physical activity and they’re trying to cope with this situation exercising to reduce stress, boost immunity, prevent weight gain and improve their sleep. They understood that a sedentary life can increase the risk of chronic diseases and decrease their immunity. For these reasons, movement became very important during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Coronavirus also affected our dietary habits causing a higher calorie consumption that could lead to weight gain. When our daily trips were limited to the grocery stores, we chose to stock up on non-perishable, calorie-dense foods or less expensive processed options. Not to mention that all those extra hours spent home made us all wanna do more visits to the fridge or snack eat all sorts of comfort meals.
We are all sitting for extended periods of time and we need to moderate this sedentarism, keeping ourselves as healthy as possible. During these tough times, a healthy lifestyle behavior became our social responsibility. Especially when isolation, boredom, anxiety, stress and financial concerns have such a negative effect on our general well-being.
For these reasons and more, exercising is extremely crucial in the face of COVID-19. Here are just a few of the benefits we can get from practicing healthy movement behaviors from home:
- Exercise enhances our immune system:
Studies have shown that doing a moderate-intensity exercise can boost our immune system and help our body fight against infections and viruses, including COVID-19.
- Exercise may prevent weight gain:
Exercising can help you burn those extra calories you’ve ate during isolation, helping you maintain a healthy weight and warding off the effects of a sedentary life.
- Exercise can help you cope with stress and anxiety:
While exercising, your body releases endorphins that have mood-boosting properties, reducing your anxiety and building up emotional resilience.
- Exercise improves your sleep patterns:
A daily exercise routine can help you fall asleep easier and improve the quality of your sleep. So if you want to have a good night rest, you should practice healthy movements on a daily basis.
- Exercise can help older adults and people with chronic health conditions.
According to the American Heart Association, adults should have at least 75 minutes of intense weekly activity or 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week. However, those who suffer from a chronic disease, should check with their health care provider before starting a new exercise routine at home.
If you decided you want to get moving but don’t know where to start, here are a few suggestions:
Exercise with family: A great opportunity for family fun, exercising can take form of living-room yoga, a dance party or a bike ride if not a backward soccer game and it can help you and your household members stay in shape.
Get outdoors: Exercising outdoors can help you maintain fit while getting some of that much needed fresh air. So if you want a full-length outdoor exercise while staying safe from others, we recommend you cycling, hiking, and even jogging or walking. A few brisk walks or a 30 minutes jogging tour around the block can add up to a full workout.
Follow along with online exercise videos: The internet is full with yoga, Pilates, dance, kickboxing and all sorts of workout videos that can help you get in shape and enjoy those endorphins releasing.
Challenge yourself: Set a weekly exercise goal — such as practicing yoga five days per week or challenging your best 5K time — and make sure you stick to that goal.
Tackle calorie-burning chores: Home related chores are an excellent way to burn calories so go work in that garden, mow your lawn or wash the car and we promise you’ll enjoy the sense of accomplishment you’ll have after completing these household tasks. Not to mention you’ll have a lot of health benefits.
It is quite strange that in a period when people’s anxiety is up because of this harmful virus, isolation led to healthier behaviors. Our lives took a pause from the regular routine and health became our main focus. All the restriction that supposed to affect our physical and mental health during this pandemic, forced us to discover new ways of enhancing our wellbeing.
