Jinwon Soul / Staff reporter
The world is now going through an unprecedented crisis; COVID-19. This current pandemic has brought lots of changes to everyone, and people now spend a lot more time at home, rather than before when they spent most of their time at school or work.
As individuals started spending more time at home than before, their daily routines and habits have remodeled in a very unhealthy way. Increased screen time, a lot of access to junk food, tousled sleeping schedule, and more. These are all possible reasons why individuals are becoming unhealthy. However, it is very crucial to stay healthy and safe during this situation.
Most people are worried and focused only on COVID-19, but it is also crucial to take care of one’s long-term health.
This unexpected current pandemic has brought lots of pessimistic changes to everyone. However, it could be a great chance to review and improve one’s health and lifestyle with all the extra time given to them.
Here are a few tips on how to maintain good health:
Drink plenty of water
People often forget how important it is to drink enough water everyday. Human bodies are composed of about 60% water, and they won’t be able to survive longer than a few days without it. Bodies require water to digest food and get rid of toxins, in the form of urine, waste, and sweat.
Water does not only help the human body’s digestive system, but circulation, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, absorption, and regulation of body temperature.
According to The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, about 11.5 cups to 15.5 cups are an adequate amount of water to drink in a day.
Not drinking enough water during the day will cause side effects, such as hard stool, constipation, dry skin, and more. It is important to make sure to drink enough water throughout the day. To make this happen, one must set up a daily goal and do the best one can to stay hydrated.
Get enough rest
People say time flies when they are in bed watching TV shows. After watching just a few episodes, it is already dawn outside.
Sleeping is what most people are having trouble with right now, especially in this time of quarantine. Individuals’ sleeping schedules have been messed up, afternoon naps have become the new normal, and more people are having trouble sleeping at night. Even though it might be hard to fix one’s sleep schedule, it is important to get enough rest at the right time.
Sleeping is extremely important to humans. Sleeping is also known as a component of an individual’s overall health and well-being. Sleeping well allows one’s body to repair and be fit and ready for another day. Getting sufficient rest also helps keep one safe by lowering the possibility of getting diagnosed with heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and many other types of illness.
The experts say it is important to sleep at least 7-8 hours a day depending on the individual’s age. If one’s having trouble sleeping at night, one should try to change their sleeping schedule as soon as possible to have a healthier body and mind. Changing a sleep schedule is not going to be easy, however, it can be done with the best effort and patience.
Be active
Staying physically active helps one’s health physically and mentally. Now that individuals spend more time at home than before the crisis, there can’t be any better time to exercise and stay physically healthy.
Although some gyms and sports centers might be temporarily closed, there are so many exercises one can do at home, in a park, or even in the backyard. Walking, jogging, cycling, skipping jump ropes, and so much more.
Staying physically active improves one’s health and prevents the risk of developing multiple diseases such as cancer and diabetes. Physical activities can benefit human health in the long-term and can improve the quality of human life.
Being active not only prevents diseases but also helps prevent excess weight gain or maintain weight loss. It can also improve one’s mood, boost strength and energy, and even help to get better sleep.
There are so many advantages of staying physically active, so with all this time given, why not try to be more healthy by building a workout routine?
Eat healthy
Eat healthy to stay healthy. There is nothing as simple as this. Eating plenty of greens and fruit is very crucial in order to stay healthy. Vegetables and fruit are important sources of many nutrients, such as potassium, vitamin A, and vitamin C. Diets that are rich in potassium help one to maintain healthy blood pressure.
It is also important to eat all three meals at the correct time. Skipping meals is very bad for one’s health because it causes one’s metabolism to slow down, resulting in weight gain.
With so much time being spent at home, eating unnecessary junk foods might be extremely tempting. However, eating junk snacks such as chips, candies, and chocolate ice cream can bring negative effects to one’s health. Try eating healthy snacks instead. There are so many options for healthy snacks, like vegetable snacks, fruits, nuts, cheese, milk, yogurt, granola bars and so much more.
As people spend more time at home, they have more time to eat snacks, which can have a bad effect on their health. It is best to try to eat healthy food because taking care of an individual’s own health is the most important thing.