12 Tips to Staying Healthy During Times of Crisis

12 Tips to Staying Healthy During Times of Crisis:

In times like these the basics for staying healthy are even more important and unfortunately often overlooked. 

I put together 12 simple tips for you to keep you in the fight!

1) Sleep -  Make sure you get good sleep - 8-ish hours if at all possible. Also, depending on how you deal with stress, don't sleep too much, which is easy to do, due to anxiety. 

2) Drink - I know what you're thinking! But, I mean water silly ;-). Staying hydrated will help you to stay healthy physically, mentally and emotionally.  

3) Eat healthy - Keep your body filled with good calories. Don't eat too much sugar, sodium, caffeine, alcohol, junk or overly processed food. 

4) Take a multi-vitamin every day. Often even in typical times, we don't get the nutrients we need from the foods we eat. In times of stress it's even more important.

5) Hygiene - I know it sounds weird, but in times like these it is easy to forget to do some of the simple things like brushing your teeth, taking a shower, shaving, changing your socks and underwear.  It will help you feel more balanced, routine and 'civilized'. All essential to keeping your health in check.

6) Routine - Routines are important for the mental health of you, your family and work. In times such as this our routines can get all 'topsy tervy' , so make sure you structure your activities to have some sense of routine.

7) Workout - It doesn't have to be a long time. A quick 10 minute workout will do the trick. 

*Like the 5/10/15/20 workout we go over on the PeaceWalker Private Membership. If you're a member, check that and other tips out in the Health & Conditioning Module. 

If you're not a member, no problem, just pick an exercise for each major body category (upper body, lower body & core) & do both cardio & strength training.

Perform each exercise after the other as fast and vigorous as you can (w/o hurting yourself) for 10 minutes. 

Here's an example:

5 - Push ups

10 - Squats

15 - Crunches

20 - Jumping Jacks

You might be surprised how good of a workout you can get and how much better you'll feel after this short amount of time.

This is the same system that one of my Resolution Group International compadres,  Lt. Col. Joe Shusko taught us. Joe's the guy who used to run the MACE Marine Corps Training Center. This is the same system that he taught to hundreds of thousands of Marines. It's what we teach police officers to do to stay fit. 

8) Time to Clear Your Head - Call it meditation, mindfulness, whatever. Everyday, take time to just sit and breathe...and Not think about anything. Breathe and bring your attention to your body. 

Here's a quick routine:

Sit or stand. Straighten out your back and breath slowly, deeply, but naturally. Breathe from your belly. In through your nose, out through your mouth. When you breathe in, expand your belly. When you breath out, push it out from your belly. 

Start at your feet and try to feel what is touching the soles of your feet, really concentrate on what it feels like in detail, then slowly move up your body until you reach your head. What are the sensations of your skin feel like? On your clothes, jewelry, with the air, etc. All while breathing. Get into as much detail as you can.

Take as much time as you have be it 1 minute or 20. 

You will feel more grounded by the end of your session. 

9) Stay Busy - As Henry David Thoreau said, "The devil finds work for the idle hands."  I would also add idle minds as well... So, keeping yourself and others busy is a good way to stay healthy and not obsess over fear and negativity. 

10) Stay connected w/healthy communities. Family, friends, work and communities like this one. 

For instance, Wednesday, our local Krav Maga Academy, transitioned our classes from in person to on-line and our first class had about 20 people  watching, training and connecting with each other. 

I felt like a million bucks after the hour long session and from the feedback, so did everyone I talked to.

It was good to connect and put energy into something other than what is happening around us, even for just a little while.

11) Limit Time On-line, Social Media & News - It's good to stay updated on what's going on, but obsessing on it too much will just send you down a rabbit hole to dark places which will not help you or those around you. 

And don't even get me started on Facebook. Be very careful about getting too caught up in this lil' devil! Seriously limit your exposure to this. Yes, it can connect, but remember this this resource can be incredibly contagious and toxic!

12) Be mindful of your news sources - There is a lot of miss information, sensationalism and hype. It's important to do your own homework as the details of this situation is very fluid. 

Things are changing quickly, so stay up to date locally, nationally and globally, but don't caught up to the point to where you start spinning out of control down the rabbit hole of fear and dispare.  Choose your news sources wisely.

Here are some news considerations:

~ CDC - Center for Disease Control & Prevention

~ Johns Hopkins University & Medicine

~ WHO - The World Health Organization

~ DIrect Federal, state & local government resource sites. 

~ Live or recorded news conferences w/official & credible medical, political and civil leaders.

Yes, of course there are many other news sources out there. You and I both probably have our favorites, just be mindful of the things you hear. Cross reference and fact check.

Health & Mindset Is Key...

Staying healthy in mind and body is key right now...

It's imperative that you keep your body and mind strong, so you can stay healthy in order to better deal with what need to be handled in your life. 

We all need to stay healthy!

In times like this there's so much more to this idea of being a protector... A PeaceWalker.

If you want to receive daily tips, tricks and tactics delivered directly to your inbox, register here: 

www.peacewalkersubscribe.com to get on my [Almost] Daily email list.

Until next time...

Keep going,

~Craig