The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many to transition from working at the office to now working from home. This can be stressful, impacting both your physical and mental health but with a little self-care perspective, you can stay healthy and productive in your work.
Here are a few work from home self-care tips to keep in mind during the COVID-19 pandemic:
Make sure to emphasize a healthy diet; it’s natural to “stress eat” tasty comfort foods, but what you consume affects your body’s ability to prevent and fight infections. Limit your intake of sugary foods and beverages, refined carbs, and processed foods made elsewhere; eat more vegetables, a moderate amount of fresh fruit, and proteins that you prep ideally from scratch. Stay hydrated by drinking enough water (aim for just under half your bodyweight poundage, in ounces of water daily).
Healthy foods can strengthen your immune system and provide nourishment for consistent energy levels. Having a healthy diet can also reduce your risk of developing (or worsening) other health conditions, including asthma, allergies, diabetes, heart problems, and obesity.
For Type 2 Diabetics, please check out our low-carb, diabetic breakfast ideas the will help you stay healthy and step up for work on time.
Aim for getting out of bed and off your seat in any way you can, for at least 30 minutes each day. For wellness, simple exercises are fine: walking, hiking, biking, jogging, gardening, and stretching have been shown to reduce all-cause mortality risks. The effects are even greater if you include a strength training component a few times each week.
Regular activity can benefit your body by improving your muscle strength, balance, immunity, flexibility, and fitness as well as reducing depression and stress. Exercising can relax your mind, refresh your mood, and – as long as you observe social distancing and use a mask if near others – decrease your susceptibility to COVID-19.
Sleep for at least 8 hours every night, full stop, mic drop, walk away. You can store extra calories as fat in case of starvation (ha), but no organism on earth can store sleep, and there’s a reason even predators and prey in the wild need to sleep when they could otherwise be hunting or hiding – it’s THAT critical to optimal survival. Do not work or watch movies late into the night and avoid blue-light emitting smartphone and tablet screens close to bedtime, as they emit light frequencies that trick your brain into thinking it’s midday.
A lack of sleep or insomnia can contribute to heart problems, high blood pressure, immunity impairment, diabetes, and has been implicated in Alzheimer’s dementia (President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher were well known for their contempt of sleep sufficiency). A lack of sleep can at a minimum decrease your concentration, thus making you less productive at work, while also increasing your susceptibility to the coronavirus. Learn more about how you can prevent insomnia.
While it is important to have accurate information about the coronavirus pandemic, binging on news 24/7 can be stressful. Limit your exposure to social media and other forms of media content; with the exception of cute kittens and puppies, what drives the new cycle is crisis and worry – what makes you gather round the all-knowing authority of news and information, for more news and information. “If it bleeds, it leads” is a prescription for selling more newspapers and obsessing over the next news release, not emotional balance and calm. If stories increase your perceptions of threat more than they provide useful information, they can lead to physical and mental health problems like anxiety, depression, insomnia and heart disease, and how many of us have resorted to stress eating or giving up on workouts when we were “too stressed” to do anything but hunker down?
To help prevent distress caused by TV/media content, you should:
Taking short breaks between your work schedules is important for your physical and emotional health. Working continuously can lead to all the health issues discussed above, especially when it’s from a seated position all day long. Taking even a 10-minute break can refresh your mind, reactivate your muscles and circulation, and help you stay creative and productive.
You can use your break times to prepare or eat a healthy lunch, meditate, exercise, go for a short walk, or engage in a self-care activity.
Following these tips will help you stay active and healthy during this uncertain time. However, if you need any help, you can always contact us to schedule telehealth or in-person visit.
Learn More: Telehealth Video Visits During COVID-19: All You Need to Know
Dr. Bunten is originally from Huntington Beach, CA. He attended high school in Tokyo, Japan, went to college at UC San Diego and then to medical school in the Midwest. He returned home to California for residency training in Family Medicine at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. His immediate family all reside in Huntington Beach.
Dr Fishbein has been in the practice of family medicine for over 35 years in Irvine. He received his undergraduate degree from Southern Illinois University, medical degree from Chicago Medical School, and completed his family medicine residency at Memorial Hospital of Long Beach.
Dr. Kim is the Medical Director of Family Care Centers, Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at Hoag Hospital, and a recipient of the Physicians of Excellence award from the Orange County Medical Association. He is Board Certified in Family Medicine, and has been practicing in our community for over 20 years.
Dr. Memon is a board certified Family Medicine physician and recently completed her fellowship in Geriatrics at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center. She attended Saint George’s University, School of Medicine and completed her residency at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center. Her interest in medicine started at an early age and has since evolved into a passionate career.
Dr. Gina Nguyen obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at UC Irvine where she graduated Suma Cum Laude. She went to USC Keck School of Medicine, and returned to UC Irvine for a Family Medicine Residency. Since 2005, she worked at Kaiser Permanente, VNCOC, and Family Care Center Urgent Care.
Dr. Williams is Board Certified in Family Medicine and Sports Medicine. He is a native to Orange County and returned home after completing his medical degree at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. After completing his residency in family practice he successfully completed a fellowship in sports medicine.
Dr. Hye Lee is a board-certified Family Practice Physician, affiliated with the American Osteopathic Association and the American College of Osteopathic Family Practice.She obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at UC Riverside and earned her medical degree from Des Moines University Osteopathic Medical Center. Afterward, she did her internship at Downey Regional Medical Center in California and has been a primary care physician since 2005.
Dr. Coyne is a board certified family practice physician and a California native. He completed his undergraduate degree at UCLA before earning his medical degree at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Dr Coyne spent 6 years in the US Air Force at Andrews and Luke Air Force bases, eventually separating as a Major. He enjoys working with patients of all ages.”
Dr. Jay Friehling is a Family Practice physician who has worked in Orange County since 1981. Born in Florida, he received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and then earned a Medical Degree at the New York Medical College.” His healthcare interests include Diabetes, Geriatric Care, and Hospice Care.
Dr. Jennifer Shoquist is board certified in Family Medicine. Her special interest is woman’s health and her practice accepts patients from 6 years old to seniors. Dr. Shoquist received her M.D. degree at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston in Houston, Texas, and did her residency with Memorial Family Practice at memorial Southwest Hospital in Houston, Texas.
Dr. Tom is a board certified family medicine physician and native Californian. He received his bachelors of science with great distinction in biochemistry and honors in chemistry. Dr. Tom was awarded a Regents Scholarship to attend medical school at UC Irvine.
Dr. Yan attended Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her Family Practice residency at Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield, California. She joined Family Care Center in 2001. She chose Family Practice because she enjoys working with a wide variety of people and because it provides a unique opportunity for continuing care.
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