Holistic family health care tips you can start today at home during Covid-19 Pandemic
By Pru Life UK

Taking care of the family during the COVID-19 pandemic should be holistic, taking into consideration both the physical and mental health of our family for better resilient overall wellbeing and protection against the impacts of pandemic to the family’s overall health. Here are 5 tips you can do immediately:

Designate a sanitation nook and each household member has a sanitation ritual when leaving and entering the house.

One can set a sanitation nook, a small table with alcohol, alcohol wipes, disinfectant sprays, and a medical waste bin. Before entering the front door, first thoroughly disinfect bags, shoes and other packages you may have by spraying it with a disinfectant spray and wiping the items down, and then put it in a “sanitised items box”. Then throw your face mask properly in the waste bin, and then sanitise your hands with alcohol. This decreases the likelihood for the viruses to enter the household when the members have to enter and leave the house regularly.

Schedule sleep according to each family member's natural sleep cycle

Getting better sleep quality is a natural way to improve our overall mental and physical health. Engaging the family to start scheduling their sleep with their natural sleep cycles  to prepare to sleep and gain restorative rest to increase everyone’s overall immunity, stabilise mood and increase energy. There are sleep applications like The app called Sleep Cycle - Smart Alarm Clock available on iPhone and Android, by tracking your sleep activity and patterns while you sleep, it helps you understand the best optimal time for your body to wake you up in your natural sleep cycle, helping you wake up refreshed and energised without the groggy feeling. Better sleep means better overall health to protect ourselves against illness.

Exercise as a family bonding time

Exercising helps us boost our immune system as well. But sticking to it is difficult when done alone. Trying exercising as a group can help boost our motivation to stick with our fitness goals for better immunity and wellbeing. Try scheduling a weekly family exercise activity that everyone can do and enjoy at least every weekend. There are a variety of group exercises to choose from ranging from Zumba to Yoga. Whatever it is, as long as the family is doing and enjoying the exercise together, the more everyone will stick to it, and improve everyone’s overall mental and physical health.  

References:

1. Gupta, S. (2020). How to properly wipe down your groceries and remove gloves [YouTube]. In CNN. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnLCYqk20YU

2. Meyer, J., & Phillips, L. A. (2020, December 29). Group exercise may be even better for you than solo workouts – here’s why. The Conversation. Available from: https://theconversation.com/group-exercise-may-be-even-better-for-you-than-solo-workouts-heres-why-149348

3. Sleep Cycle: Sleep Tracker - Apps on Google Play. (n.d.). Play.google.com; Google Play. Retrieved February 4, 2022, from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.northcube.sleepcycle

4. Suni, E. (2020, September 25). What is Circadian Rhythm? Sleep Foundation. Available from: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/circadian-rhythm