Looking after your health and wellbeing is an important task, especially when normal activities and routines are curtailed. Each day we should be doing something to look after our physical and mental health to provide a greater sense of wellbeing overall. It can involve many quite simple activities including caring for a member of the family, getting in touch with someone or even feeding a pet.
If you live with a medical condition, you may benefit even more from taking small steps to enhance your health and wellbeing every day. We have many opportunities to do so until we are presented with the opportunity to travel again.
Whether you live on the coast, the edge of a forest or in the middle of a town, we wanted to share a selection of wellness activities that you can do whatever your medical condition, which will enhance your overall health and lifestyle…
Sitting in daylight
The easiest thing you can do at home is to take a seat in your favourite chair. At the kitchen table, in your brightest window, in the garden, or in a porch, veranda, or, if you are lucky enough to have one, the balcony, at the brightest part of the day.
What are the health benefits of sitting in the sun?
- If the sun is out, it only takes 20 minutes for your body to be fuelled with vitamin D – great for your bones, teeth and muscles.
- Some time spent watching wildlife will help you feel at peace. What better time to do so, as all types of insects and animals become more active in the springtime, and the trees bud into life again.
- Simply being outside in the fresh air has been linked to better mental wellbeing and can reduce stress. Opening a window can also help.
However, if your medical treatments make you more sensitive to the sun, remember to wear a higher factor sun cream.
Enhance your health and wellbeing with fresh local produce
Buying local produce isn’t just good for British producers like the butcher or baker. Eating local is also good for you because locally grown food means it is fresher. If you were unsure of what is meant by “local” food, it is food that is grown and harvested within 100 miles of your home. So stay healthy and happy by tucking into a nutritious fruit and vegetable box and create a new healthy eating plan. You could buy something fresh you haven’t eaten for a while – or even tried before! Surprise yourself with the variety of products that exist; you will often find goods that are not commonly found in the supermarkets.
If this sounds like your type of thing, treat yourself and order a food hamper from a local farmer or British food supplier. From Cornwall to Norfolk and up into the Scottish Highlands, there is a vast range of hampers that you can create, with a wide range of fresh produce to choose from. You could even send one to friends and family for a special occasion!
Where can I find a food hamper delivery service online?
- Cherry Picked Hampers
- The Cornish Hamper Store, to enjoy the best of Cornwall wherever you are.
- British Fine Foods. Create your hamper in three easy steps using British produce or order a luxurious table centrepiece for a feast.
- The Little Yorkshire Hamper Company for a range of sweet and savoury items.
- Scottish Hampers, which support a range of Scottish producers and source some true Scots specialities.
Get active with some health and wellbeing activities
Play with a pet
Your pet’s happiness is infectious – you are sure to feel happy too as you watch them having a good time. Even if you can’t get out very often, throw a ball about the garden or roll something around indoors for them to chase.
Walk around the garden
Walking among nature is also a chance to practice mindfulness, as you notice the scenery and wildlife. If you’re a photography enthusiast, your garden can become a beautiful backdrop for a photography project.
What if you don’t have a garden?
There are lots of tips and health and wellness activities available on the internet. There is a huge variety – for some, the only equipment you need is a chair and some small water bottles.
Once you have an exercise you enjoy add it to a daily routine. Your muscles will strengthen, your stamina will be built and any excess calories will be burnt. Always remember to refresh yourself afterwards with a tall glass of water. If you like making ice cubes add a drop of lemon juice, water or a mint leaf to them, which will energise you further.
On balance, know your limitations, so you can get the most out of your efforts but remember that small bursts of gentle exercise can improve your health.
Don’t forget to give your brain a work out too!
The brain is physically divided into two hemispheres. The left processes information in a verbal, analytical manner and the right is more visual and intuitive.
• Right side brain activities – read a good book, daydream and doodle or watch your favourite comedy show. Laughter will always be good for your mental and physical health.
• Left side brain activities – solve a puzzle like Sudoku or do a crossword. Give yourself a word count when writing a text message or limit yourself to expressing your thoughts on a post-it note.
• Exercise both sides – simply breath through your left nostril then your right. Studies have shown that different things occur in the body and brain depending on which nostril is being used.
You can also stimulate the whole of your brain from scanning your eyes back and forth!
However, if you just want to lie back to drift off and relax, create your own wellness retreat at home…
Creating a wellness room
A wellness room is a place for quiet and comfort, away from life’s daily challenges and distractions. Here, you can meditate, read or pamper yourself while listening to music. Position some plants, your favourite cushions throws and consider a salt lamp for some attractive ambient lighting that will purify the air as you relax.
If you are short on space, nothing is stopping you from creating a space within a space! Clear an alcove or corner and add a neutral room divider or curtain for more privacy.
If your wellness room is your bedroom, add a couple of candles. They can raise the energy of purification and inspiration while helping to release daily stress. If you combine relaxation with yoga or just some gentle stretches, you’ll be caring for both your mind and body at home. Just add some music!
Music and yoga
Some music can energise you, some music can transport you to another place and some music can help you relax. Find your favourite tune, composer or artist and sit back and relax. Acoustic or ambient music is best listened to while doing some stretches or yoga moves in an open space and listening to classical music has many benefits for our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing such as enhancing productivity and brainpower.
Speaking of enhancing physical, mental and emotional wellbeing: why not get creative?
Getting creative
Do you have a wool mountain that needs reducing? Or a passion for watercolour that has sadly dimmed due to a lack of time to start painting? Now is the perfect opportunity!
Creative activities to keep your senses sharp:
- Macrame, a textile craft based on knotting strings in patterns.
- Making scented candles with essential oils.
- Knitting or crochet to make a throw for yourself or someone special to you.
- Decoupage, which involves cutting out pictures, glue and varnishing them onto objects.
- Playing a musical instrument and composing your own music.
However, if art is not for you, why not find a new way to complete a task easier/quicker around your home or think about some cost-effective solutions you could put into action instead.
You could also find or make a gift and send it to someone….
For positive health and wellbeing keep communicating
Call a friend, neighbour or family member. You could even send an email with a funny attachment if you like searching the internet for amusing content.
Write a letter to someone you have not seen for a while or to a companion who lives abroad to make their day. Sit down with some pretty writing paper and tell them what you have been up to recently, or you could write something different, like a poem or short story!
There is nothing wrong with playing with words and manipulating the 26 characters in the alphabet either. Why not create a new catchphrase or word that is unique to you, which lets you express yourself?
Not many people put pen to paper these days so sharing a story via post is becoming more meaningful to some people. A small child may also feel special to receive something in the post when it is not their birthday too.
If we have not inspired you yet, here’s what Free Spirit and Direct Sales Manager Mary Holt likes to do to enhance her health and wellbeing at home… 
“I have been working from home for the last two weeks, when not working; I have been doing a lot of cooking, which is something that I enjoy but very rarely have the time to do.
There have been some very interesting recipes online that you can do that subsidize the normal ingredients if you are unable to get them. My Mother was a very good pastry cook, making sausage rolls, pies and iced buns that were always delicious!
I am good at savoury cooking but have always struggled with cakes. However, I am getting a lot of practice now so I am hoping that I will be able to say I can make cakes, which my Mum would be very proud of.
I am also doing a daily walk, very early in the morning when there is nobody about. As I am used to walking two miles a day, I want to continue to do so because it is a really good way to exercise.
Plus, I love reading and crosswords. Whatever you enjoy, continue to live life to the full, while keeping well.”
We hope we have provided you with some thoughtful wellbeing initiatives to explore and you can enjoy some rest or a range of wellness activities to get your heart pumping.
We have also shared different ways that you can enhance your five senses and intuition, to live well and fully at home. Your body is an incredible organism that is capable of doing many things. Use it and live well from creating your wellness formula!