Lockdown has been a challenging experience for most people, and while it may be coming to an end in the upcoming weeks, often families will want to stay home as much as possible to stay safe and well. On an individual and family level, being cooped up inside all day while many businesses remain shut or continue to work from home means that keeping it together can be tough.
If you need some help staying sane locked down with your family, here are five ways of making it easier.
Keep Your Home Tidy
It’s hard to overstate the psychological impact of a tidy home. But keeping your home tidy will benefit you psychologically. The phrase “tidy home, tidy mind” is much more accurate than you might think. Conversely, allowing clutter and mess to build up in your home can have a suffocating effect, even if you aren’t usually claustrophobic. Research has shown that clutter correlates with rising levels of anxiety and stress, which during a global pandemic, needs to be minimised as much as possible! So, if you are starting to feel restless at home, why not pick up a duster or the vacuum cleaner and work on each room? Start with the room you spend the most time, such as the living room, and work around the home.
What’s more, make sure you pay special attention to your bedroom. A cluttered, messy bedroom can affect how easily you drift off to sleep. Spend the time on making your bedroom a mess-free sanctuary, perhaps burn scented candles to create a relaxing atmosphere, and you will find your stress levels begin to drop when you go to bed at night.
Make Sure Children Are Educated And Entertained
For families facing the strictest lockdown rules, balancing the needs of children without leaving home presents a real challenge. Some children are more demanding than others, but even the most well-behaved child is going to struggle with being indoors most or all of the day. What’s more, the lack of spending time with their friends can take its toll on their happiness levels.
To help your children, and yourself, you should aim to keep them entertained and educated while they’re in lockdown. Both components are essential for a healthy child, even if they aren’t very enthusiastic about the education side of things. Fortunately, YouTube is an excellent resource for educational videos.
There are numerous online learning resources for adults and children. No matter what you want to learn or what level you are, you can find plenty of free resources and materials on most subjects.
You should also try to arrange online meetups for your children and their friends, if they of an age where they can spend time virtually playing and talking with their peers. Many games now allow friends to play together virtually, and playing video games also helps your children with their motor skills.
Unwind With The Pokies
The pokies are a popular Aussie pastime. Online pokies are easy to pick up, you don’t need any experience with casino games to play the pokies. You can find a list of the best Australian casinos for playing online pokies at the link above.
Remember to gamble responsibly. With the stress of a lockdown, many people are looking for an escape. Just make sure you stay within your limits, and gambling doesn’t become your go-to for de-stressing.
Exercise However You Can
One of the main challenges of lockdown is finding time and space for physical exercise. Even if you can get out of your house, time outside is limited for many people in lockdown.
Fortunately, you can hack together a home gym using household objects. If you can invest in some basic home gym equipment, things like dumbbells and pull-up bars, these will make keeping fit throughout lockdown relatively simple.
Fall Back In Love With Reading
Lockdown is the perfect excuse to lose yourself in a good book. If you are a lapsed literature lover, take advantage of the abundance of free time you now have to rediscover the joys of reading. Books provide a valuable form of escapism right now, and there aren’t any negative aspects to consuming multiple books each week.
With these tips in mind, you can hopefully start to reclaim some of your sanity and prevent you and your family from sliding into a scene from The Shining. The key is finding the right balance and making sure you keep your mind and body active.
