What started with the pandemic is becoming the new norm worldwide. Working from home was the luxury of freelancers until metropolitan cities started to become ghost towns. However, now that the masses get a close look at the laxity, the problems have begun to come forward.
The most pressing issue of working from home is your health. Whether it is your physical or mental health, each takes its due toll due to inactivity.
Since going to public places like parks and gyms is way out of the question in many parts of the world, we see a sudden shift towards home workouts and health improvement activities. But to your surprise, working out from home and changing some of your lifestyle habits is as beneficial, if not better, than outdoor activities.
It doesn’t take long for depression and anxiety to creep up on you either when you’re at home. Even though you may have designated places around the house to work, rest, sleep, and eat, they eventually all shrink to one place.
So, to keep your mental health in check and prevent a physical decline as well, here is how you can stay healthy behind the closed doors of your home.
Make Cleanliness A Priority
If you’ve had some experience working from home, you may very well know how hard it is to focus on work at times. Maybe it is the dust on your dresser that’s bothering you or piles of dirty dishes at the sink.
If you do not have a clean, spick, and span surrounding, it is nearly impossible to focus and be productive. The best way to overcome this obstacle is by carrying out the little chores as you go. Because if the floor is dirty today, it will be dirty tomorrow, get up and clean it!
Some people find cleaning up after every use easier. Simultaneously, others prefer to do the cleaning before calling it a night or the first thing in the morning. And if you do not have the luxury of a house cleaning service, you too have to make your pick from the above options sooner or later.
When you have everything clean and organized, you eliminate many stressors from your surroundings. And this makes a very positive impact on your mental health as it is easier to concentrate and be productive. Also, you don’t have your depression and anxiety triggered every now and then either.
But cleanliness is not all about taking a load off your mental health. It significantly improves your physical health, as well. Getting done with these minor chores make you more energetic. And having a cleaner environment puts you at a lower risk of catching diseases and illnesses.
Separate Urgent Tasks From Important
This one’s more about striking a perfect balance between your work and life. But it is also to ensure that you work smartly and don’t overdo it. Because one of the most common causes of physical or mental health problems is burnout. And you don’t want that.
Coming over to the point, we always have two types of tasks on any given day. Work with deadlines (urgent) and work that “needs” to be done (important). Suppose you have to work on an important pitch for a meeting, and you have to get the groceries done as well. Now, working is important as you have to keep bread on the table but so are groceries, how do you choose?
Although there is no deadline for getting the groceries done, you won’t get to eat the next meal if you miss out on it now. And that makes it a priority task. Doing your groceries the first thing in the morning will give you ample time and energy to focus on your pitch later.
Similarly, you can apply this to any chore or task that you have to get done. Because typically, most of the urgent work is less time-consuming. And once it is off your list, you have all the time you need to focus on what’s important.
This is a very effective way of improving your mental health as you build new neural pathways. It improves your motivation level, reduces stress and anxiety, and makes it a little easier to focus. But on the physical side, it keeps your health in check by not letting you overdo it.
Because more often than not, when you fail to manage your tasks and set out to do everything at once, you barely get anything done and still use up all of your energy.
Plan Out Home Workouts
Suppose you have any background to exercise and work out at all. In that case, you may find it easier to maintain your physique at home as you know the exercises and routines to follow. But if you’re a beginner, working out on a mat with your bodyweight isn’t exactly your idea of exercise.
But here’s the thing, recent studies show that bodyweight exercises like pushups, pullups, planks, skipping, dancing, and yoga are excellent choices to improve your cardiovascular health. And since you’ll be breaking a sweat quite often, you get to reap all the benefits there are of exercise.
Working out regularly keeps your body and mind fit. When you work out your muscles, they use up the energy you get from food more efficiently. And that, in turn, improves your metabolism, immunity, recovery from injuries, and blood circulation. Also, if you are scared of the post-workout pains then, you can always just carry a cbd inhaler with you. CBD inhalers are a smoke-free alternative to consuming hemp but carry the same effect.
Since each muscle of your body will get oxygen-rich blood frequently, you’re less likely to feel backaches or neck aches. Also, your body uses up all the stress hormones when working out, which solves your mental health problem.
But it doesn’t just stop there. There are tons of studies showing how exercises make your body secrete happy hormones, etc.
However, it is getting into a fitness routine that’s a problem. You can find an ideal workout plan for yourself online. But the thing to keep in mind is that it should be an exercise routine that you can follow with comfort.
Watch Your Diet
There is nothing that impacts your mind and body more directly than the food you eat. You must know how fatty and sugary foods cause diabetes, obesity, and several other health problems. But did you know that a poor diet is linked to mental health issues as well?
Your body needs the energy to process emotions, exert, and carry on with the normal functions. And it gets that energy from the food you eat. So, it does matter what you eat and what you don’t.
The best way to ensure a healthy diet for yourself is by crafting one out for yourself. Yes, it will take a few hours to research and come up with a list of food items that you like and are healthy. But it is going to be much easier to incorporate into your routine that way. Typically, any nutritionist or dietician recommends staying on the greener and leaner side of the food. Meaning, dark green vegetables, lean meat, fish, and nuts are excellent choices for a healthy diet.
However, if you ever crave something unhealthy like gummies, you always have the option of consuming cbd gummies. CBD gummies are absolutely healthy and extremely good for your mental and physical health. Having a balanced and healthy diet not only improves your sleep and physical functions of the body, but it also enhances your ability to handle emotional stress and other psychological problems.