Daily Times

Take your physical and mental health seriously during the lockdown period. Coronavirus, apart from being a contagious disease, has brought huge stress, anxiety and depression in human life worldwide. In the wake of unavoidable confinement in houses, isometric exercises could be taken as a mandatory part of life; otherwise, our physical and mental abilities will suffer long after we win the war against COVID-19.

The risks of social isolation, according to the American Psychological Association, are just comparable to those of obesity and smoking. During the necessary coronavirus lockdown, social isolation is supposed to cause extreme anxiety, cognitive disruption and severe hallucination. Taking exercise at home is enough to keep us healthy by invigorating the immune system.

So as physical human health is concerned, experts say that longer social isolation takes the people thirty percent nearer to cardiovascular diseases and strokes. Abdominal ailments are a must if we do not take exercise into account these days. From weight loss to mental health and thinking ability to stress management, everything is achievable through regular workouts.

Perceived isolation is directly correlated with the increased activity of nervous system along with quick fall in sleep and rise in inflammation

Further, a huge amount of literature has proved that perceived isolation is directly correlated with the increased activity of nervous system along with quick fall in sleep and rise in inflammation. These symptoms lead to cardiovascular aging in short-term. Jumping a rope in your sitting area, climbing the stairs of your house and dancing in your bedroom, if you like, altogether provide a complete package of cardiovascular exercises.

Since kids and old age people are more vulnerable to COVID-19, exercises prescribed by the health aficionados are mandatory during the lockdown. A few days ago, the schools were on the go and the children were given opportunity to play in the ground. These days, intramural exercises can keep the children healthy. Moms can play vital role in searching for the kids’ exercises from available online resources. Wall-sit for ten minutes a day is recommended for the children.

The people over 40 years, usually diabetic ones, have been deprived of the prescribed amount of daily walk. A master plan at household level is required to put the middle age people to small exercises and keep their digestive system activated.

A number of studies reveal that during the outbreak of flu in Hong Kong, the people who were doing mild to moderate exercise faced lower risk of dying. Another study conducted on 24,656 Chinese individuals asserted that people who were either doing no exercise or were involved in excessive workouts were at greater risk of dying as compared to the ones doing moderate level of exercise.

Youngsters can opt for handstand push-ups and sit-ups to keep their metabolic system upright. Since the young Pakistani women are putting great efforts these days in keeping their homes clean and managing other household chores. Exercise therefore is in their destiny. That is good for maintenance of their health during the rough and tough times human beings are passing through. There is a range of workouts people could do in their bedrooms, small lawns and even in garages. Young people could consider reverse crunches, leg lifts and leg marches. These workouts reduce the chances of developing obesity and keep the people composed.

Most importantly, pregnant ladies need to take great care of themselves. I would request the concerned to come one step forward to look after the pregnant ones by chalking out a feasible plan for their diet, emotional health and physical exercise. Low-impact aerobics, prenatal yoga and stationary cycling could be the best choices. Brisk walking is useful in prenatal times, but it seems to be impossible until the lockdown is over.

Exercise has got the potential to repel psychological impact of coronavirus. Regular workouts reduce the level of stress to a considerable magnitude and replace the mental fatigue with spiritual relief. Regularized production of hormones – cortisol, insulin, glucagon, and testosterone – depends on taking planned exercise. Hormones are the natural controller of important physiological processes in the human body which include but are not limited to growth of tissues, improvement of cellular activity, and construction of muscles.

Even bad times have something good! There is an opportunity for the physical health instructors, consultants and nutritionists who could offer their services online through updated audio-visual mobile applications. Just take the help of some search engine and you would find many there!

The volume of unnecessary buying seems to be reduced because of the lockdown. The middle-income class is saving the money that could otherwise be spent on fuel, transportation, eating outand luxury buying. This saving could be invested in executing the plan for physical fitness and mental health.

Whoever advises you to exercise loves you more. Stick to the precautions, do workouts and stay healthy to make history in the future!

The writer is a researcher and journalist