Why Should you Stay Active During Quarantine?
There are many reasons to stay active during the quarantine. Before this situation, it was advisable to have at least one hour of physical activity every day. During quarantine, this recommendation acquires much more value.
Setting apart an hour a day to exercise is a way to take care of yourself. It isn’t necessary to have a gym and lots of equipment to perform a demanding training session. You can work with everyday objects and your own body weight.
There are also many fitness professionals who offer the opportunity to learn with them remotely through the screen of your mobile phone or computer.
Four reasons to stay active during the quarantine
Being physically active during confinement has benefits for both our bodies and minds. In the following paragraphs, we’ll explore the psychological benefits of exercise during quarantine:
1. It improves your mood
A study from the International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology found that physical exercise is an effective way to improve your mood and reduce stress. When you exercise, your body lets go of tension and frustrations, and it channels that energy into something more positive.
In addition to that, our brains release chemicals that induce feelings of well-being and tranquillity. This antidepressant effect is present in many forms of physical exercise.
In other words, there’s no single type of exercise capable of improving your mood. Any activity, whether it’s more or less demanding, can generate those feelings of well-being as long as it’s something that you enjoy.
In addition to all of this, according to a study published in Clinical Medicine, physical exercise is also effective in preventing mental disorders such as depression and anxiety.
For this reason, staying active during quarantine not only helps you feel better when you have a bad time, but it also protects and strengthens your mental health.
2. Allows you to learn new skills
Exercising in isolation is a unique opportunity to learn new skills. This time is ideal to discover all those things that the fast pace of our daily life prevents us from doing.
For example, you can learn to disconnect the mind with yoga or meditation or try out a new dance style.
Acquiring these new skills will strengthen your self-perception. Feeling that you’re capable of doing things that previously seemed out of reach is a great stimulus to increase your self-confidence.
3. Helps to establish a routine
Routines are not necessarily negative. They can reduce uncertainty and give you a sense of control over your day. They also allow you to make the most of each day.
During quarantine, it’s more difficult to establish a routine because there’s a lot of free time. However, this doesn’t mean that we should let the hours go by without doing anything beneficial.
Furthermore, establishing a daily exercise routine is a way of giving purpose and meaning to each day. If you’ve spent time caring for your body and mind, then it won’t be a wasted day.
4. It’s a way to distract yourself and not think about the future
In most cases, stress happens because we think too much about the future, and we’re not able to predict when confinement will end. Physical exercise is an effective way to put an end to those thoughts about the future.
When we’re exercising, our mind is only thinking about the movements that we have to perform. This is a simple way to avoid thinking about the current situation.
On top of that, since staying active improves our mood, the way we face the future will be more positive. Exercise can also help to change negative thoughts into thoughts of encouragement and inspiration.
The importance of staying active during the quarantine
While the quarantine is still going on, you must find ways to entertain yourself and stay busy. Exercise is the ideal option to maintain your physical condition and reduce stress.
As we’ve seen, physical activity provides numerous benefits; it improves your mood, helps you relax and fall asleep, and eliminates negative thoughts. That’s why you should establish a daily exercise routine and set apart some time to care for your body and calm your mind.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Bayego, E. S., Vila, G. S., y Martínez, I. S. (2012). Prescripción de ejercicio físico: indicaciones, posología y efectos adversos. Medicina clínica, 138(1), 18-24.
- Jiménez, M. G., Martínez, P., Miró, E., y Sánchez, A. I. (2008). Bienestar psicológico y hábitos saludables: ¿están asociados a la práctica de ejercicio físico?. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 8(1), 185-202.
