A Guide to Staying Healthy in Lockdown
Lockdown is a difficult time for everyone, whether you are living at home, or staying at university. Whether you are riding solo in lockdown, distracting friends in your uni home or returning home to your parents (I’m here for the pets), here are some tips to keep your mind and body healthy and happy… and hopefully coronavirus free!
Staying active:
We’re super lucky in Nottingham to have Wollaton Deer Park on our doorstep (or a 15-minute walk away if you live at the top of Lenton, like me). This 500-acre park is home to the most photographic deer, as well as the classic Elizabethan hall (an ideal background for TikTok).
Although you can’t meet your whole extended friendship group here, this is the perfect location for a – rather chilly – picnic or a long walk with a significant other or close friend (providing you stay at least 2m apart).
Go on walks. These were vital to my sanity in Summer and I am lucky enough to have a dog who adores trekking around the countryside with me. Not only does it give you an escape out of the house, it is beneficial to your mind, as well as curbing those ‘corona kilos’.
Staying festive:
As Christmas approaches, so does a festive challenge on the classic lockdown activities:
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Organise a Secret Santa rota within your house.
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Suggest the task of cooking a whole Christmas dinner over the weekends closer to December with your housemates, I’m sure this would impress your mum and switch up the student diet of pasta.
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With Amazon delivering next day, or Aldi and Lidl just around the corner, and festive decorations being rather cheap, why not flood your student house with tinsel…possibly avoiding the kitchen these are rather flammable.
Staying connected:
As we can’t meet with our friends from home, don’t let this stop you from continuing to make memories and enjoy their company. Think back to summer; the drunk zoom calls, the terrible quizzes and the Instagram challenges – reach out and check they’re okay. Lockdown is a stressful time for everyone, staying connected with your friends provides an outlet and an escape for isolation, people are going to miss each other.
Staying happy:
Remember that you can still have fun with your housemates, even if you can’t go to parties. Organise a house bar-crawl, with each room having a different theme, dress code and drinking game – I promise you; it will be fun. For inspiration, think about your favourite films, tastiest cocktails, best holiday destinations etc.
Don’t let yourself get caught up in uni work, lecturers don’t expect you to work 24/7, even if we are in a lockdown. Take yourself out of the house and on a daily walk, even if this is into town to do the food shop, there is no limit on exercising outside of the house, so take advantage of this whilst you can!
Indulge in some self-care; skincare, takeaways, new clothes… your student loan is there for a reason!
I hope this gives you some inspiration for how to spend lockdown, if these ideas don’t appeal, I recommend TikTok, as this is certainly how I spent my last lockdown.