In 2021, almost everyone’s lives were entirely upheaved, leading to immense stress and anxiety. Among all the chaos, did you leave self-care on the back burner?
Get started now by developing a plan to implement these healthy habits.
Stay active throughout the day.
Are your legs or feet completely asleep when you stand up from working? It can be easy to sit down at your computer with your coffee at 8 and work straight through to lunch, completely forgetting about breaks.
While work is important, so is your health. Be sure to stand up and stretch regularly throughout the day to keep your blood moving. You may find that staying active will keep you more creative and energized at work.
Get enough sleep.
Adults need between 7-9 hours of sleep every night. Not hitting your full 7 hours multiple days in a row will lead to reduced performance at work, increased irritability personally, and an overall worse mood.
Be sure to get plenty of sleep. If you need to, implement a bedtime routine to help yourself relax and get ready to sleep. Consider not using devices for 1+ hours before bedtime, implementing a yoga wind-down routine, or other strategies to help you feel relaxed.
If you struggle with insomnia due to back or neck pain, this article explores sleeping positions that relieve pain.
Practice mindfulness and gratitude.
These can be an excellent addition to your bedtime routine: daily mindfulness and gratitude practices. Mindfulness is a strategy for coping with and controlling your emotions. It can be mentally centering and calming.
If you’re not a morning person and you relied on your morning commute to wake up, consider implementing a morning mindfulness practice. You’ll be able to center yourself and your thoughts while waking up and preparing for the day ahead.
In addition to daily mindfulness practice, consider implementing gratitude in your routine. In crazy times like these, all of the negative news can be overwhelming. A daily gratitude practice is a good way to remind yourself of all the positive things in life.
Drink plenty of water.
It is recommended that adults drink around 3 liters of water each day. If you wait until you’re thirsty to start drinking water, you’re already dehydrated. Be sure to regularly drink water throughout the day and remember if you’re working out or in a hot environment, you may need to drink more.
Don’t like water? Get creative and infuse yours with fruits, veggies, and herbs like cucumbers, citrus, and mint!
Prep healthy meals.
It might seem silly to prepare meals ahead of time while working from home. After all, you’re just a few steps away from the kitchen! However, if you’ve ever found yourself snacking all day instead of sitting down for lunch, this one is for you.
By preparing healthy meals ahead of time, you’ll be more likely to take a break from work and sit down to eat and less likely to graze on snacks all day long. Explore more of the benefits of meal prepping while working from home.
Disconnect from devices.
If you’re working online or doing virtual learning, you’re probably spending a lot of time on your phone and computer right now. Unfortunately, there are health repercussions that come from spending too much time on devices.
Outside of work, try to spend more time disconnected from your devices. It can be tempting to “just handle this quick work email”, but in reality, you always wind up sucked into other tasks and it can be hard to put the phone back down. Explore new ways to connect with family members at home. Try pulling out old board games and puzzles, or even arts and crafts supplies.
Get a sweat-sesh in every day.
You don’t have to run a marathon or lift weights for two hours, but do some physical activity that gets you sweating every day. Even spending a few hours cleaning can be enough to get your heart pumping and your blood flowing.
Exercise isn’t just good for your body, it’s important for your mental health too. As seasonal affective disorder is in full swing, be sure to take steps to minimize the impacts.
Ditch fad diets and living by the scale.
If you’re struggling with having gained weight during quarantine, don’t take it out on yourself. COVID-19 in general has been incredibly stressful and trying. Restricting yourself or aiming for unrealistic goals is more harmful than beneficial. Be sure to always strive to be your happiest and healthiest. We’ll be here to help!
We’re constantly rolling out additional tutorials, helpful tips, and other resources to help you get the most out of your StrongTek products. Please subscribe to our newsletter to get our most recent articles delivered straight to your inbox. As a bonus, subscribers will receive exclusive offers and inside information about upcoming products.