Українська How to prepare your body for the encounter with the coronavirus, which will most likely happen to most of us? How to maintain both physical and mental health of yourself and help your colleagues? The first online meeting of the ‘ANTI-Crisis Camp’, organized by robota.ua, the Ukrainian Association of HR Professionals, and SMART business, was dedicated to this topic. Tips and experiences were shared by:
Kateryna Kovalevska, Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board of the HRPro Association.
Roman Torgovitsky, Ph.D., American scientist, TEDx speaker, Founder, and President of the American charity Healing War Scars and the Boston Center for Organizational Excellence.
Pavlo Lushyn, Doctor of Psychological Sciences, Professor, Founder, and President of the All-Ukrainian Association of Ecological Psychological Assistance.
Tina Holoborodko, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York.
1. “Introduce” your internal and external experts
Every day we hear many tips on how to maintain health, but we hardly ever use them. However, it is crucial to transition from a conditionally negative state (anxiety, fear, nervousness, irritability, inability to concentrate, etc.) to a more resourceful state – good physical health, high motivation, vitality, readiness to tackle complex tasks and come up with extraordinary solutions. In order to achieve that, your internal and external experts must become friends. The internal expert is responsible for intuition, sensory perception, understanding what you personally like/dislike, what you want/don’t want, self-awareness and understanding your potential. The external expert is responsible for knowledge, preferably scientifically proven.
This is necessary for transformation, to trasition from theory to practice. If one has a lot of useful knowledge, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are ready to take action (sleep more, exercise, etc.). On the other hand, if you constantly rely only on your internal feelings without additional knowledge, the transformation process can be slowed down. So, gather verified information but listen to yourself and your own needs. Even healthy habits should be introduced gently, without forcing yourself, because harsh compulsion leads to stress, which negatively impacts the immune system.
2. Follow social isolation
Countries are focusing on increasing the “bandwidth” of the medical system, ensuring an adequate number of doctors, ventilators, medications, etc., so that everyone who needs medical help receives it. The main contribution society can make, meaning each of us, is social isolation. This genuinely helps reduce the number of people who get sick. It’s important to understand that social isolation will not prevent spreading of the infection fully. It’s aimed at reducing the pressure on medical staff and intensive care units for a certain period.
We must accept that there are no guarantees, but there are real steps we can take to: a) avoid getting sick, and b) if we do get sick, make the course of the illness easier and prepare ourselves for it. We must strengthen the immune system and take care of both physical and psychological health.
3. Maintain a daily routine
First, it helps to keep yourself in good shape during self-isolation. Second, it’s important to remember that hormones are regulated also… by time. Certain bodily functions “activate” at specific times, like a train schedule – you’ll miss the train if you arrive a few hours late. So, eating a pastry at night or going to bed late are generally bad ideas and, especially, during quarantine.
4. Sleep
It’s extremely important to take care of both the quantity and quality of sleep right now. Sleep deficiency suppresses the nervous system and negatively affects immunity. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Learn to wake up without an alarm clock (this is the most beneficial form of rest, because waking up with an alarm means disrupting natural rhytms of your body). It’s helpful to go to bed in the evening as soon as you feel like it, ideally before 10:00 PM. Sleep should be in a dark and quiet room, and avoid looking at screens for 1-2 hours before bedtime.
5. Exercise
It’s very beneficial to exercise in the morning before breakfast, preferably before 4:00 PM. In the evening, moderate exercises or calm walks are useful, especially outdoors (when you can maintain social distancing). When jogging, it’s advisable to increase the distance to 3-4 meters (since when running, more virus particles can be expelled due to the faster breathing). Don’t forget to wear masks. Sunbathing is highly recommended, especially in the morning, for 20-30 minutes. A cold or contrast shower is also great for stimulating the immune system.
6. Monitor your nutrition
A balanced diet helps maintain good physical condition. Experts particularly recommend having breakfast (which is an important meal), and advise against eating treats at night or drinking coffee after 1:00 PM. From a virus-fighting and treatment perspective, research is currently focusing on the potential of vitamins C and D, as well as zinc and omega-3 fatty acids. Medications should only be taken on a recommendation of a doctor after specific tests, but consuming as many vitamins as possible in their natural form is extremely important (vegetables, fruits, fish, etc.). For example, clinical studies are being conducted on quercetin and its ability to fight the coronavirus. This flavonoid is found in many products, including capers, onions, oranges, apples, peppers, broccoli, etc.
7. Focus on your work and purpose
This is something we can all learn from doctors: they go to work every day where they are likely to have direct contact with the virus, and their chances of getting infected are much higher. However, they focus on their work and on the fact that people need their help, so they stay calm. This is somewhat similar to the behavior of a soldier in combat, when the person is fully focused and collected, and later, in peacetime, cannot even explain their actions. In extreme conditions, the body gathers all its energy and actively resists potential external threats.
8. When to urgently reach out to a doctor?
Special attention is needed for symptoms such as shortness of breath (a simple test – if it’s difficult to say a whole sentence while exhaling), prolonged fever, extreme fatigue, chest discomfort, blood oxygen saturation below 95% (if you have a pulse oximeter); these require urgent consultation. Especially if the person is in a risk group (older age, pre-existing conditions, etc.).
So, we focus on our work and its underlying meaning, the benefits we can create even during quarantine. We take care of our own, our family’s, our colleagues’ health… And everything will be fine.
SOURCE: https://prohr.rabota.ua/yak-pidgotuvatisya-do-zustrichi-z-virusom/
Recording of the online meeting “ANTI-Crisis Camp. Mental and Physical Health
English
