Exercise, Coronavirus, and Mental Health

​As the coronavirus pandemic continues to shape the way our community progresses through 2020, it is easy to feel overwhelmed or even demoralised. Maybe you haven’t been able to achieve the physical or mental health goals you established for yourself in the New Year. In some cases, lockdown requirements have made it difficult to maintain the painstakingly developed physical activity routine that you had put together. Anxiety, stress, and mental fatigue levels can be expected to be at an all-time high with the uncertainty facing jobs, health, and future plans. But if you’ve been following social distancing guidelines, you’ve been a powerful part of the movement to ensure the overall health and wellbeing of the greater community and those with vulnerable health conditions. As an invaluable part of that, make sure you give yourself the recognition you deserve. As the situation has unfolded, it is understandable that self-care may have dropped down the ladder of priority for a brief moment. So now that events have stabilised, how can you get back on track physically and mentally? 
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As you may have heard, exercise and physical activity have been included in essential activities during the current restriction guidelines. This is a very positive decision for mental health care, as it has been established by studies that inactivity can contribute to levels of depression. More recent studies have shown that depression levels can become elevated after as little as seven days of inactivity.  The good news is that exercise and physical activity reduces stress, anxiety and depression, and that this can be achieved through “movement doses” as low as 60 minutes per week! 

• Unplug from technology and news updates occasionally to give yourself a mental break
  
  
• Find ways to incorporate movement at the start and end of your day. Establishing a routine will help set you up for success and can help put you in the right mindset for beginning or finishing your day in a stress-free way.  Some exercises you can do without equipment include walking, resistance-free exercises (like squats or Romanian lunges) while you watch Netflix, or yoga. 
  
  
• Stress can often manifest itself through muscle tension as neck pain, headaches, sore backs, and stiff jaws. Check the Pear Exercise Physiology Instagram and Facebook posts for some helpful release exercises that can be done with a trigger ball.
  
  
• If all you feel like you can do is five minutes of yoga or a ten-minute walk around the block each day, that is ok. Gentle physical activity, or exercise “snacks”, can still yield very positive effects like relieving anxiety, improving sleep quality, and easing physical discomfort. Exercise does not have to equal sweating and high intensity. 

• Keep your goals achievable and realistic. Many people are juggling extra responsibilities or even just extra worries, and that takes up time in the day. Set yourself an initial daily movement goal that is small and achievable, and grow your goal from there.

• Join our Zoom classes to get in some healthy movement as well as some good times with our wonderful and supportive community of clients and staff. Social distancing does not have to mean social isolation, and we are all here to support each other. 

• All of our friendly Pear staff members are available for one-on-one appointments and are here to help you with your health needs! We have a range of resources to help support you through this time, including face-to-face appointments, telehealth appointments, and home exercise programs.