What a historic time we’re living in, and not only in relation to the coronavirus . There is an overwhelming amount of news, opinions and advice going around and it can very easily be confusing and worrying. Hopefully without adding to any confusion, here is our contribution. A viewpoint we haven’t heard much about in the media.
Two of the four osteopathic principles state as follows:
The body is a unit. The whole, being greater than the sum of its parts and every part inter-relating and affecting all other parts.
The body is it’s own medicine chest. We are robust human beings designed with the inherent ability to adapt and heal ourselves.
With the current events and keeping the two above principles in mind, I would like to emphasise the importance of taking charge of the things we DO have control over which can make a difference; such as our hygiene and health.
A strong and healthy immune system is key to being able to ward off and fight any illnesses and diseases that try to take hold. We have the ability to support our internal medicine chest by looking after several aspects of the body to make it stronger as a whole. Here are some of those areas and ideas of what we can do.
Mind/Mental:
Sustained stress, anxiety, worry and negativity prolongs cortisol release and creates an imbalanced internal environment that drains the immune system and detracts from promoting health.
Body/Physical:
As we commonly say, “Movement is life”. Regular movement is vital. Whether it is walking, playing a sport or anything in between. Breathing, raising the heart rate moving your joints improves your lung function, oxygenates your blood and improves your circulation delivering that blood around the body.
Diet/Nutrition:
Poor food and drink choices promote inflammation in our bodies, as well as bloating, fatigue, cravings, pains and dis-ease. This leaves us susceptible to illness. Good food and drink choices nourishes our bodies and our immune system. It promotes good gut health, makes us feel good and function well.
Sleep:
Sleep is where we rest, digest, recover and restore. It’s SO important to get good quality sleep for multitude of reasons. We all know that when we are well rested we feel great and are more productive. During sleep our immune system will be able to restore too.
What can we do?
Switch off from the news! It’s negative. You can keep abreast of things without seeing, hearing and reading about them every 15 minutes. It only creates fear, anxiety and worry, and that won’t change what’s happening around you, but it will decrease your body’s resilience.
Spend time with your loved ones, family and friends. They’re likely to be the ones that can bond with you and support you, and that you can laugh, be happy and feel good with.
Move. Stand up, sit down, roll on the floor, go for a walk, take the stairs, go to the next bus stop, stretch, breathe deeply and play. You will feel better for doing so.
Avoid sugar, sugary foods/drinks, processed foods and alcohol. Support your immune system by eating pure, non-processed food, fruit and vegetables. Vitamins A, C and D are great for the immune system. There are a surprising number of us that are vitamin D deficient! Drink plenty of water daily - this is very important.
Go to bed early enough to get 8 hours of sleep. Routinely go to bed/wake up at the same time daily. Avoid eating late (3 hrs before bed) and avoid stimulants such as coffee (8hrs before bed). Try to switch off televisions, computers, phones and bright lights a while before going to bed. Meditate, have a bath, read or listen to music to relax yourself in preparation for sleep, and sleep in a darkened bedroom.
This isn’t an exhaustive list and shouldn’t be too difficult to implement. Being consistent is important and you’ll really feel the difference. Ideally this should become your norm.
It goes without saying that cleanliness and hygiene should already be an established part of your life and so just be more aware of this as you go about your day.
Of course we must heed the government advice and protocols relating to COVID-19 which can be found here. All of the above will also greatly benefit us. We must take an active role in our own health. Please post any questions or comments below.
Yours in health,
Injury Therapy Pro