Gear up for the post lockdown life with these
Gear up for the post lockdown life with these
Published on June 24, 2021. EST READ TIME: 3 minutes
“Health is wealth” is an old adage that was always true and will continue to be so. In fact, people around the globe have become conscious about what they eat and what they do for fitness, for quite some time. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has enhanced the importance of health and wellness like never before. After all, it showed how a tiny virus can drastically change lives, compromise the toughest of immune systems, and wreak havoc.
So, once lockdowns subside and life gradually starts going back to normal, you will need to be more careful than before. Growing and maintaining healthy habits is the only way to fight the current and future pandemics (as well as common illnesses). So, here is what you can do:
Exercise
Exercising helps in innumerable ways. Working out regularly for 30 minutes, 5-6 days a week, is ideal for regulating weight, blood pressure, diabetes, and maintaining a healthy heart and lungs. Exercising doesn’t have to be lung-bursting, but just strenuous enough to push your body that little bit further out of its comfort zone.
Take the stairs, ditch the elevator, take a 30-minute brisk walk, or cycle for half an hour. These small things can literally add years to your life. Play a sport of your choice regularly. The trick is to find a physical activity that you enjoy so that it’s easier to continue doing it.
Eat right
Always have breakfast. When people say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, it is true. Breakfast eaters tend to take in more vitamins and minerals and less fat and cholesterol. Breakfast also helps regulate sugar levels after the bout of fasting at night while you’re asleep.
Having meals rich in protein and fibre helps you feel fuller for longer, reducing the need for between-meals snacking. Avoid sugary food and processed food as they provide ‘empty calories’ and no nutritional value. These calories end up getting stored as fat. Avoid artificial sweeteners as well as they may be associated with obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart diseases. Chewing food also helps in reducing your calorific intake, partly because there’s a delay in your stomach telling your brain that it’s full.
Focus on mental health
The pandemic has shown just how fragile and important mental health is. Be it due to social isolation or economic losses, stress and anxiety can affect your mind in different ways. So, it’s time to identify the emotions you feel and understand their triggers. Relaxation techniques such as yoga, meditation, mindfulness, and exercise are proven measures to counter stress and anxiety.
Take time off social media and other screens and focus on family and friends. Reconnect with your friends, and spend quality time with your family, doing activities together. Maintain a journal and write down the things you’re grateful for, a few times every week. Just like physical exercise, mental health requires work and practice, for it to show its magic. And most importantly, get that 7-hour sleep at night.
Push yourself
Challenge yourself to do new things and experience novelties, so that you feel young, and get the blood pumping through your veins. Learn to play a new instrument, pick up a new hobby, learn basic life skills such as cooking, woodworking, plumbing, etc., take art lessons, read more books, learn a new language and inspire others to change the status quo.
Challenging yourself keeps your brain agile and responsive, producing positive secretions while keeping negative developments at bay. You’re only as healthy as your habits. Developing positive habits will help you achieve a more positive outlook on life and will attract better things towards you.
Conclusion
Sometimes, you need more than just positive habits to keep you safe against health emergencies. For instance, ahealth insurance policy will keep financial distress at bay by providing coverage against medical emergencies. It will help keep your financial goals intact while letting you get on with your life, worry-free. So, try to choose the best health insurance policy in India, based on your specific health profile, budget, and live life stress-free.
Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.