What If Quarantine Lasts YEARS?

isolation can be nice but humans are social creatures by nature from climate change researchers and Antarctic Survey stations to astronauts aboard the ISS there are people out there doing jobs that require them to be isolated sometimes for months or even years at a time and now that being stuck inside is taking its toll on everyone they have a lot of advice to help us through it so let's all settle down with a nice hot drinking cover 10 tips to survive social isolation from my sanctum sanctorum to yours we're all struggling these days and it's important for us to take time for our mental health and this time of turbulence and turmoil to get some alone time I've taken to hiding in the only place I truly feel like myself my panic room otherwise known as my closet but what more constructive things can you do at home to make this time as peaceful as possible the most common technique to survive isolation is likely the simplest and most effective make a schedule and stick to it physician Shana Giffords spent a year in the Hawaii space exploration analog and simulation replicating what life would look like on Mars and because days seemed to blur together in isolations she suggests running your day like a game ask what phase of the day am I in along with work self-improvement and helping others it's ok may be necessary to slot in a time for doing nothing whatsoever likewise researchers John Wei Wong a scientist with the center for global sea-level change recounts that keeping a routine and working in short bursts got him through lengthy months on an Antarctic icebreaker with our cycle of school and work gone maintaining a daily routine even in quarantine can provide a helpful structure to the nebulas time space of social isolation similarly Austrian physician Carmen posnick who spent a year at Concordia research station in Antarctica notes that during their four months of sunless winter moments of low mood or loss of motivation are part of the isolation and she emphasizes the importance of trying to see the present asking yourself what can I do now in the next hours this week and taking things one step at a time she says every day you've made it through will improve your self confidence and the feeling that you were able to cope with the isolation during her time in Antarctica posnick I improved my piano skills learn how to build Roman armor out of plaster how to speak French and Italian and started writing a book like posnick keeping your mind set on personal goals is a trick experts suggest that gives time spent while isolated meaning and provides motivation Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield says that it's an extremely dangerous environment upon board the space station and yet we find a way to thrive and be productive that far away from our normal lives and gave some examples on setting goals start doing things they don't always have to be the things that you always did before take care of family start a new project learn to play guitar write create it's a chance to do something different keeping on theme American astronaut and chemist Katie Collman spent two months in isolation due to NASA's pre-flight quarantines and was only allowed to see her son through a pane of glass before she traveled to the International Space Station she says she was able to get through it by focusing on the importance of her mission now her son uses the same mission mentality to get through self isolation because the mission at hand is protecting each other we're not astronauts well we are like Coleman's son and our mission is to stay home and keep everyone around us safe mental health is at the forefront of this quarantine struggle a Royal Canadian Navy sailor who will call brown suggests that meditation can be a great way to keep your mind at ease either in the typical sense or just a moment without technological stimulation it's helpful when checking in with your mind and body they highlight meditation as a way to practice compassion to yourself and others specifically saying they like to treat or talk to myself as if I was talking to seven-year-old me this is a common therapeutic technique it is commonly used in combination with sitting with your thoughts for a moment each day and breathing in for five seconds holding for five and breathing out for five even if it doesn't work it'll help calm you down when you're wound up as reluctant as I am to admit it exercise has been proven to benefit mental health aerobic exercise increases blood circulation to the brain which has been shown to reduce the impact of anxiety depression and negative mood swings it's no surprise that most experts recommend exercise to stave off your self isolation demons positing recommends sports like yoga zoo Pilates or strength training are easily done at home it helped me with changing perspective on things improved my physical well-being and reduce stress making me more relaxed Brown says that the movements yoga runs you through will not only work your muscles the breathing will help open your lungs and bring more oxygen into your body I know I know staying physically active is difficult especially with apartment living or those with pre-existing mental and physical conditions but Chris Hadfield suggests that we identify and work around our limitations and exercises scientifically proven to make you feel better we've talked before about the importance of a balanced diet everything we eat has an impact on not only our bodies but on our brains as well our brains only comprise 2% of our total body weight yet they use 20% of our energy resources the frontal lobes are so sensitive to drops in blood sugar that a change in mood is the primary sign of a nutrient deficiency in other words keeping a varied diet with all the essential nutrients that your body needs will stave off mood swings you can also try experimenting in the kitchen to make homemade versions of your favorite restaurant foods like Gifford and her colleagues who once recreated a Subway sandwich bar for dinner while in isolation emulating life on Mars sleep is also a paramount to maintaining a healthy lifestyle in and out of quarantine a healthy sleep schedule of seven to nine hours a night not only helps with the formation of memory but maintains energy levels during the day if you're going off in the early afternoon you may be experiencing the symptoms of sleep deprivation if you've been sleeping for less than seven hours but still feel fine it's possible that your body has adapted to sleep deprivation like mine has but that doesn't mean that your health isn't affected by a fragmented sleep schedule there's more to thriving in a stressful situation than doing push-ups keeping a schedule and making sure that we're eating more than just microwaved Pillsbury Pizza Pops for three meals a day unless you're Tom Hanks you're going to need to talk to real people sometimes astronaut Luca parmitano says that while living on the ISS the best thing to keep their sanity is really the communication with the crew and with the ground coleman likewise spent as much of her time as possible on the ISS keeping in touch with her son back home while at the South Pole Wang kept his trusty satellite phone close to his person at all times and Gifford recommends to offer words of encouragement teach them and learn something from them interact meaningfully communication with loved ones is the crux it seems for all of these people to survive in isolation text your mom call your dad FaceTime your cousin talk to whoever makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside communication isn't all phone calls and zoom meetings whether there are partner's siblings parents or roommates it's hard to keep the peace when we can't get any alone time little grievances can seem to stack up pausing implores us to talk with one another about little annoyances like when your roommate drinks the last of the orange juice she says your roommates small habit unimportant until now may suddenly trigger a fight this is why it is important to talk about things that one perceives as annoying the sooner the better and always in a friendly open manner girl your attention for a sec cuz I'd like to talk to you about something that I perceived is annoying and and I'd like to do it in a friendly open manner please I didn't do nothing you know what you did this way we can both let the people around us know how to keep us happy by avoiding pet peeves and we can find out how to make isolation as comfortable as possible for them to some friendly competition is a great way to blow off some steam make an indoor mini golf course play cards learn what the hell backgammon is and hey from jack box to Mario Party there are plenty of video games these days that we can play together with every member of our household even if you're sequestered away from your friends just like reading a good story in a novel we can also experience something fantastic through video games but up some friendly competition is what you crave online multiplayer games provide an easy venue to connect with loved ones without ever needing to change out of your pajamas autumns there's a pressure to remain productive in quarantine history is happening right outside our doors and what are we doing watching new episodes of the midnight gospel and learning how to crochet it's been said that Shakespeare wrote King Lear in quarantine but comparing ourselves to Billy the bard is pretty silly even in the best of times it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that we're not being productive enough just remember as long as we're adhering to social distancing guidelines we're all doing the best that we can to protect the people around us a lot of things are out of our control right now what is in our control is how we choose to spend our time so do what makes you happy speaking of which if and you'll excuse me I need to go schedule a call with an old friend of mine [Music] it's called a video chat for a reason bro I can see you that's good now I just need to be able to see you - you can't see me no I can't check to see if your firewall is blocking it

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Keywords: bored at home, stuck at home, things to do at home, what to do in quarantine, stuck in quarantine, what to do when your bored, what to do when bored, what to do in lockdown, quarantine tips, stuck in the house, stuck at home bored, what to do when you're bored at home, what to do when youre bored at home, bored in the house, quarantine bored, Social distancing, isolation, quarantine

Id: azkx9i_sjJE

Length: 9min 49sec (589 seconds)

Published: Wed May 13 2020