If you are one of our tenants or not, like the rest of the UK you likely find yourself in isolation currently. Uni is closed and your part-time job has very likely closed for business too. Ironically, staying at home can pose challenges to your mental and physical health so today I’m going to do my best to give you some tips on how to thrive in isolation or at least how to survive isolation!
My first tip would be to keep a routine. It’s been proven that we are creatures of habit and do well under these settings. With no set times to attend lectures, it will be tempting to do work at 4 am or much more likely not at all! Try to set aside certain hours of the day as working hours this will give you something to wake up for and provide some stability to your day if you can add set times to exercise to this then grand, for the obvious mental and physical benefits that will bring with it too!
Tip number two: retain as much human contact as possible. Some of you may well be isolating alone and maintaining visual and vocal elements of human interaction is key to our social wellbeing. Messaging whether through WhatsApp or Facebook is great, but now is the time to be video calling. We know none of us like to do it usually, so get on the Houseparty app or something similar and have a drink with your pals or tell your nan to stand at least an arm's length away from the phone and give her a FaceTime!
Finally, and we are definitely going to sound like your parents here but at this time it’s as important as ever for us to stay healthy! If you’re feeling good physically it’s much more difficult for you to fall into a slump mentally. So whilst we are all aware the typical student diet isn’t famed for its health benefits I’m also not suggesting you attempt to go on the Paleo diet! Just try and get some fruit and veg In daily preferably something green, stay hydrated and try and get good quality sleep. If you can add some form of exercise to this, as I've said before, you are absolutely smashing it!
And one bonus tip, which is a very personal one to me. Listen to some banging upbeat tunes throughout this crisis. Music can completely change your mood and this is even backed up by genuine science, so it must be true! So as much as I love you, Johnny, The Smiths are out for now.
Good luck! Stay home and stay safe.