Quarantine Self Care

10 Quarantine Self-Care Tips

Because You Matter

If you live with or care for children, partners, parents, roommates, pets or even alone, stealing time for yourself can be a job in and of itself. Even if you’re not the type of a person who regularly gets facials, manicures, massages or any of those spa treatments, carving out some time for a self-care routine is paramount to well-being.  So here are our simple tips for creating an everyday self-care routine, even if your life at home is busier than ever.

1. Sleep: It’s tempting to want to wake up early, especially if you are the one preparing meals or getting folks off to work or school. But sleep plays an important role in your physical health; while you sleep your body is repairing itself, which is why the lack of sleep is associated with heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke. So, make sure you’re getting 8 or more hours per day.
2. Breakfast: It’s not so much the eating of breakfast that matters, but what you eat. So, make healthy choices that minimize sugar and fat. Unfortunately, the typical American breakfast is full of both. Other options include: fruit smoothies made with a nut milk, oatmeal topped with fruit, or if you want to be super healthy…whole wheat toast topped with avocado and steamed kale.
3. Be Grateful: Have you ever known an octogenarian who is just grateful for every little thing? These same folks are probably the happiest and longest living as research shows that being grateful increases our satisfaction with life and helps us relate to others, which in turn leads to longevity.
4. A Good Book: Studies have shown that reading beats walking and listening to music as the best way to lower stress levels. In one study, researchers noticed that it took only 6 minutes for participants’ heart rates and muscle tension to ease once they began reading. And, it didn’t matter what they read.
5. Flowers: Buying or even growing your own flowers has been shown to lower stress levels by providing both aromatherapy and beauty –being in nature has its own benefits as well.
6. Walking: Walking several times throughout the day, in 20- to 30-minute blocks, has been linked lower stress levels, and is part of a good fitness routine.
7. Follow your passion: Hobbies can help us become more patient people because they usually involve a learning process; when we learn something new, build new skills, meet new people, we are generally happier.
8. Soothing body oil: The act of massaging our skin with body oil or lotion is not only soothing to our dry skin, but also helps the lymphatic system and immune systems. And dry skin can activate diseases by causing inflammation and infection. So, load up on body oil, and massage your cares and dry skin away!
9. Digital Diet: Everyone knows we (all of us) have a problem with our screens. Experts recommend that blocking out time to unplug is key to mental wellness. To do this, here are some tips: make daily habit of turning off your phone during meals and after dinner, turn off all notifications during the day, and designate 10 minutes a day to check social media.
10. Take a bath: Bathing is more than cleaning. Bathing improves circulation, boosts the immune system, treats depression, removes toxins, reduces stress, helps with sleep, relieves muscle pain, and clears nasal passages. Make bathing part of your daily routine to reap these benefits.