This year turned out to be a game-changer for us. Due to the COVID-2019 pandemic, we had to reevaluate our lifestyle and to adjust it to a new reality. No doubt, we had to sacrifice many things, which used to make us happy, for our health and the health of our dear people. We had to shut ourselves up in our homes for several months and to refrain from such enjoyable things as trips, parties, get-togethers with friends, and even meetings with relatives. However, this year was also a time of discoveries that made our lives healthier. Here are the top 5 changes this year has brought to us:
We Turned Our Attention to The State of Our Immunity System
In view of the pandemic spreading all around the globe, many people get worried about the state of their immunity in the first place. Medicines and foods for reinforcing immunity became hot topics. Patients with strong immunity have better chances to fight the disease with minimal or no complications. So, all that anxiety is quite logical and natural. Still, one should treat all those tips and advice discussed on the Internet with a pinch of salt, in most cases, those are just marketing tricks or myths.
What do medical experts recommend?
- Stick to a well-balanced and substantial diet rich in fruit and vegetables. One should keep in mind that most slimming diets cause adverse health consequences.
- Get enough sleep and rest. Be sure to sleep at least 7–8 hours per day.
- Exercise. That will help to improve the operation of your cardiovascular system, to enhance circulation, to normalize the blood pressure, to get rid of excessive weight, and to provide a wide range of other health benefits. But do not get overwhelmed. Too much exercise can weaken your organism.
- Keep your body weight healthy. It is well-known that obesity is the factor that can significantly increase the risk of serious complications in the case of COVID-19.
- Avoid stress. In case that is hard if not impossible, strive to get them under control. Meditation, yoga, dancing, jogging, walking pets, painting, cleaning, cooking ― try one of these tips or find your own methods to relax after a hard day. There are so many variants to choose from.
- Refrain from bad habits. Do not trust myths about using alcohol for preventing any diseases, including COVID-19. As for smoking, there is no evidence proving that it can prevent this infection either.
- Take care of tissue immunity. As a rule, respiratory viruses get into one’s organism through the nose. Hence, it is crucial to make sure that the local mucous membranes are able to fight infectious agents, i.e. that they are moistened enough. Take the following simple steps: drink enough water, ventilate your room regularly, keep the air humidity in your room at the level of 50–70% and the temperature below 22°C, spend much time outside, use a salt solution for moistening the nose when you feel that the mucous membranes are too dry.
- Pay attention to hand hygiene. Be sure to wash your hands with soap for 20 seconds as a minimum every time you come home. Avoid touching your face, mouth, lips, or eyes with unwashed hands when being away from home. If there is no access to running water and soap and you need to clean your hands, use a sanitizer.
We Started to Take More Care of Our Health in General
The pandemic attracted our attention to the fact that most of us did not pay enough attention to our health. So, for many people, the period of lockdown was the chance to introduce new healthy habits, like eating healthy foods, exercising, and getting enough sleep. Also, we had a chance to understand that regular visits to a doctor and medical tests are a must for every person who wants to live a long and enjoyable life. No doubt, from now on, most of us will put our health first when planning a day, choosing a job, and making other decisions.
We Got Adjusted to Communicating with Health Specialists Remotely
Since every visit to a crowded place like a clinic, hospital or pharmacy can put the health at risk, online consultations became immensely popular. Fortunately, today, there is a huge selection of services that provide consultations with experienced professionals for a reasonable fee. However, there are also services offering such consultations for free, for example, App Pharmaceuticals. On this website, you can ask any questions about your health and the medicines you take and get a comprehensive answer from pharmacist. More to the point, you can stay anonymous if you want.
We Became More Conscientious and Responsible
Under the threat of the highly-contagious infection, we had to think over every step to minimize the risks. Every adult and child realized that every action has consequences. We had to become accustomed to wearing uncomfortable masks, avoiding meetings, washing hands after visiting public places, monitoring the state of our health, and reporting about any suspicious symptoms to doctors. As of now, we are well aware of the fact that we bear responsibility both for our own health and the health of those around us to some extent. And there is a good chance that we will preserve that way of thinking for many years if not for the entire life.
We Switched to Online Drugstores
In 2020, we had to reduce our contacts with other people to a minimum, that is why we started to order most goods online instead of going to local shops. And medicines are not an exception. The sales volumes of online pharmacies increased dramatically in recent months. And it turned out that such Internet drugstores like riteaid.com or walgreens.com can offer a bunch of benefits: lower prices, wider assortments, regular sales and discounts, loyalty programs, additional services, like newsletters, reminders, and automatic refills. There is no need to waste time visiting an offline pharmacy when you can buy everything online within a couple of minutes and at a cheaper price. So, most of us will probably keep on turning to Internet drugstores even after the threat of COVID-19 goes away.
To sum up, this year has shown us that our health is our biggest value. And it taught us how to take care of it without spending much time, effort, and money. Hopefully, we will learn those lessons well and will adopt a healthy lifestyle for the entire life.