As the coronavirus pandemic remains a dominant factor in our lives, we continue to look out for each other as a nation – helping isolating neighbours where we can and sticking to changing government rules. But it’s also important that we look after ourselves, both physically and mentally.
You might be on your own – self-isolating or furloughed – or be struggling to juggle working remotely with homeschooling the kids.
In honour of World Meditation Day on 21st June, we take a look at the apps and free-to-stream fitness classes you can take to help you stay physically and mentally well.
Here’s your guide to wellbeing and mindfulness in lockdown.
1. Meditation and wellbeing apps
There are plenty of meditation and mindfulness apps on the market, all purporting to help you relax, reduce stress, and send you to sleep. Here are two you might try:
- Calm
A ‘Best Buy’ in The Independent and an Apple ‘App of the Year’ for 2017, ‘Calm’ aims not only to reduce stress but to increase happiness and build self-esteem too.
It provides music, meditations, and masterclasses designed to encourage relaxation throughout the day and also to send you to sleep.
Crackling fires and rolling waves combine with the sound of wind through North Californian trees and samples from Bob Ross’s The Joy of Painting in a bid to give you a restful night.
- Headspace
Available for IOS and Android, Headspace first appeared over ten years ago but remains one of the best-loved and most downloaded mindfulness apps on the market.
A friendly and intuitive interface allows you access to on-the-go meditations whilst also offering an introduction to some of the theory behind mindfulness practices.
The app is designed to fit into a busy working day with mini sessions to fit into lunch breaks or commutes but they work just as well as breaks in homeschooling or remote working, helping to relieve the stresses of lockdown living.
2. Mental workouts
A recent report from the University of Melbourne looked at cognitive challenges we can set ourselves to keep our brains active and trained during the lockdown and beyond.
They confirmed that memory and thinking skills tend to be more resilient in people who routinely engage in cognitively challenging activities like education or learning new skills.
- Puzzles
Dr Lampit of Melbourne University states that ‘most activities rely on several brain or cognitive functions, including memory, language, planning, and speed of processing’ but suggest that a range of different puzzles is best for a true mental workout.
Crosswords are great for language and short-term memory, as are board games like Scrabble. There are also plenty of brain training apps available that will set you maths or memory problems. Try BrainHQ, HappyNeuron or CogniFit.
But remember to give your brain a speed workout too. Any computer game or app that requires quick reflexes – such as Tetris, or racing games – will give your brain a different sort of training. If computer games or apps aren’t your thing, the card game Snap would work just as well.
- Reading
Recent research from The Reading Agency found ‘strong evidence that reading for pleasure can increase empathy, improve relationships with others, reduce the symptoms of depression, and improve wellbeing throughout life’.
The University of Liverpool also confirms that reading ‘can encourage relaxation and have a positive impact on mental wellbeing.’ It can also increase mental stimulation, improving your memory, and expanding your vocabulary.
If you’re stuck at home, you might have the perfect opportunity to tackle your to-read pile, but if you’re busy with work and kids you’ll need a different way to relax, whilst also training your brain through storytelling.
Audiobooks and podcasts sharpen listening and attention skills so even having a Book at Bedtime on in the background could be helping to keep you mentally active and well.
According to a recent Independent report, ‘sales of audiobooks are set to overtake ebooks in 2020,’ with UK sales of spoken story-telling set to generate revenue of £115 million.
Currently gracing the charts of Amazon’s ‘Audible’ audiobook service are Harry Potter, Michelle Obama’s Becoming, and Sally Rooney’s Normal People.
3. At-home exercise classes
The daily exercise classes hosted by fitness coach and TV presenter Joe Wicks have been well-publicised and the money raised for the NHS stands at over £280,000 at the time of writing according to online publication TechRadar.
Livestreaming at 9 am daily on his YouTube channel, you can also catch up on previous workouts.
Elsewhere on YouTube, POPSUGAR Fitness offers a wide variety of non-equipment workouts from High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) to Tabata and Pilates.
Also, be sure to make the most of the changes to lockdown and get out in the fresh air for as much outdoor exercise as possible.