10 areas to focus to keep yourself healthy
This past weekend I was letting myself get carried away with all the anxiety about the Coronavirus. I was checking my phone a few times per hour and constantly refreshing and seeing if there were any new messages in my family group text…
I was starting to feel the fear creeping in, thinking about all the possible negative scenarios and imagining the worst, getting slowly sucked in into the negative loop…
I had to stop…
I realized that I had to set up a few boundaries and get myself back to center. And, luckily enough, I was able to disconnect and stop the anxiety before it grew into an even bigger fear.
These are stressful times. We’ve never faced anything like this. We can see the whole world reacting and the media stressing the bad news and worst of all, we have instant access to everything that’s going on 24/7 non-stop.
How are you dealing with all the chaos and stress around you? Are you able to focus on what matters or you get pulled away with all the news, media, and constant updates about the virus pandemic?
How can you ignore all of this?
How can you get yourself back in control?
As you know, stress is not the best state if you want to keep yourself healthy. And right now, you want to keep yourself with the least amount of stress and as healthy as possible.
So, how do you avoid being stressed out during this time? How do you decrease your anxiety and stop the fear from creeping in? How do you keep yourself healthy? What can you control so your immune system is strong if you get the virus?
As with any other situation, there are things that you cannot control and things that you can. And to avoid feeling overwhelmed or anxious, you should focus on the things that you CAN CONTROL.
For me, with this kind of situation, I want to be informed. I want to know what’s happening in my community, in my city, in my country, in the world. I want to know what’s going on with my family, friends, and colleagues. I want to know what I can do, what should I do?
But, also, I realized that I need to limit how much news I consume, how many times I’ll be checking social media, how many times I’ll be in the group texts, how much I’ll be talking about the virus every time I meet someone.
I don't need to be all day connected with a continuous feed of news, because that only increases my stress and it makes me feel more anxious.
So the FIRST thing I can control and do is to CHOOSE how many times I look at the news, social media, text messages and other type of related information. This, I can control.
I can also make sure that the news I consume are from reputable sources, instead of letting myself get carried away by any new post or thing coming out in social media.
I’m sure you know this already but if you want the latest information about Covid-19, the best place is the CDC website, so go and check their site. Make sure you follow their information and you are familiar with their advice. That’s something you should be familiar with and put into practice to avoid getting sick, or spread the sickness to others.
SECOND, after I control what type of information I let into my life and how much, I focus on what I can do to keep myself healthy.
When there is the risk of getting infected by a virus, besides following all the advice given by the CDC, you should also focus on STRENGTHENING and supporting your IMMUNE SYSTEM, which after all, will be fighting the virus if you were to get infected.
I’ve been working on improving my health for years, but right now, keeping myself healthy is the biggest priority. So I focus on this.
How do you take care of your immune system? There are a few things that you can do that will help you supporting and strengthening your immune system.
Just because is more fun :) I called my areas of focus my “10-S”:
Sleep, Sun, Sustenance and Sipping, Supplements, Sweat, Strength and Stretch, Solitude, Soul.
Sleep
If you want a strong immune system, sleep quantity and quality is crucial. Your body needs time to repair, restore and recharge and all of that is done while you sleep. So, allowing my body the rest it needs is number one on my lists to do for my health. I focus not only on the number of hours I sleep but also on the quality of my sleep, ensuring I get enough deep sleep and REM sleep.
To have a good night of sleep, try not to eat too late in the evening, stop using blue lights (screens) at least one hour before bed, sleep in a dark and cool room, don't watch TV in bed, get out on the sun and limit your caffeine intake.
Sun
Being outside is important to let your body know when is daylight and adjust your circadian rhythm. It helps your body with the production of vitamin D and regulating your melatonin, so you sleep better and therefore help your immune system. Obviously, with the lock down restrictions going on in some countries, you might be limited right now to go out. If this is the case, try at least to go out in your balcony, or patio, or window. Let yourself look out and let the sun touch your skin for half hour.
Sustenance
You are what your gut is able to absorb. Your energy and well-being are a direct effect of what you eat and what your gut is able to process. So it is crucial for your health to keep your gut happy. The focus is to decrease the underlying inflammation in the body that keeps your immune system overworking. To help with that, eat whole nutritious foods, don’t eat processed foods that increase inflammation, avoid ingredients that you can’t pronounce, reduce sugar intake, and focus on increasing your intake of green leafy vegetables, fiber and healthy fats like avocados, olive oil and fish. If you are staying at home, why don’t you take some time to cook your own meals?
Sipping
How much water do you drink daily? Do you keep track? If you don't, I recommend you trying to track it for a couple of days and see if you are drinking enough. Most of us are not drinking enough. We think we are. But we are dehydrated. Water helps flushing toxins out of your vital organs, carry nutrients to your cells, allow your cells to grow, reproduce and survive, lubricate the joints, helps with the manufacture of hormones and neurotransmitters, is a shock absorber for the spinal cord and the brain and helps delivering oxygen to the body. Do you need more reasons to drink more water?
Supplements
Because our soils are no longer as rich as they used to be, the food we eat might not be supplying us with all the nutrients it used to. Also, maybe you haven’t been taking care of your nutrition for a while, so your body might be low in some of the essential vitamins and minerals it needs to work well. For me, I use supplements to ensure my immune system is supported. Some of the supplements I take are multivitamins, turmeric, omega 3 and vitamin D. Lacking key nutrients can be a load on your body and decrease the functioning of your immune system, so provide the right nutrients to decrease inflammation. Go and schedule a check with your doctor and ask him/her to test your vitamin levels so you know if you need any supplementation. Remember, you are supporting your body to be healthier.
Sweat
When I talk about sweat, what I actually mean is helping your body to detox. Make sure your detoxification pathways are working as they should. Toxins should be flushed out, instead of getting accumulated in your body. Your liver, kidneys, intestines, lungs, lymphatic system and skin are your detoxification pathways. Support them by decreasing the load on them and supporting the detoxification pathways. Things that you can do: limit your alcohol intake, ensure you drink enough water, if possible sweat with exercise, or do a massage to help with the lymphatic system, or even something as simple as dry brushing your skin can help with opening pores and help your lymphatic pathways. As far as supplements you can take that help you with the elimination of toxins, activated charcoal and glutathione are two of the supplements I ‘ve tried that helped me.
Strength and Stretch
By strength and stretching I am talking about exercising and movement. You are familiar with the benefits of exercising and in these times of high stress, it’s something you should incorporate in your routine. Since the gyms are closing due to the new guidelines of limiting social gatherings, try some of the online programs. There are multiple sites with free yoga classes, cardio, strength conditioning…whatever the exercise, add some movement to your routine, your mind and body will thank you.
Solitude
Try being in silence, listen to your thoughts, reflect, meditate. Sitting in silence and focusing on breathing is a very effective way to decrease the stress levels. And in these times of so much information around us, giving yourself time to sit in silence is a necessity to keep your mind and body centered. Start with a couple of minutes. See how you feel. Try using a meditation app, I’ve used Calm, Insight Timer, Omvana… check online and see which one you like. Slow down your breathing, breath in through your nose and fill up your belly, exhale slowly and give yourself a break sitting with your own thoughts…
Soul
Do things that keep you connected with others, that bring joy to your life. Your well-being and immune system benefit from connection and engaging with others. In this special time, where social distancing is a must, you can still keep connected with your loved ones via phone, video, text…Keep the physical distance but keep the soul connection to bring joy into your days.
As you see, there are plenty of things you can control to make sure your health is in good shape. Focus on that, don't let yourself drift into the continuous sea of information and media.
You can control what you allow in your life right now.
You can control how you react to whatever is happening.
You can support your body to be in better shape.
So, tell me, what do you choose to do? How do you choose to react? How do you want to contribute to the world, by adding fear or by choosing to be calmed and centered? The world needs positive energy now, it needs more of us being centered and calm, so let’s focus on the things we can control and spread positive energy to those we are in touch with!
BTW, as you know, I am not a medical doctor and this is not medical advice and if you choose to engage in any of these activities it is solely at your own risk.
xoxo,
Sofia