Five ways to stay positive during a pandemic

This post was written by ScIU Undergraduate Intern Jackie Williams.

It’s been over a year since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and staying positive this past year has not been the easiest. Despite what your greatest instincts say, going on your phone could be the cause of your blues. After a year of foregoing family and friends, we crave connection now more than ever. While social media may initially seem like a good way to engage with others when we’re apart, research has shown that social media can negatively impact our mental health and lead to a more sedentary lifestyle. Like social media, a sedentary lifestyle often harms your mental health. Luckily, researchers have discovered small hacks that you can do everyday to increase your levels of serotonin (the mood and happiness hormone). 

1. Be active — Working out boosts our body’s levels of endorphins, the “feel good” chemical produced by our brain. Exercising helps reduce stress, anxiety, and depression and will even help you sleep at night. Anything ranging from jogs around your neighborhood to following an online yoga class can make your day a little brighter! Other common exercises that can improve your mental health include running, walking, boxing, pilates, yoga, and spin biking.

2. Take breaks from social media — Social media is great for killing time, but it can be addictive and allows us to compare our lives in that exact moment to someone on a vacation at the beach. To avoid the negative impacts of social media overuse, try limiting your time spent on social media platforms. Scientists have found that high social media activity correlates with negative mental health. Social media is effective for society because it allows people to communicate easily and to connect with people from all backgrounds; however, it is important that people set limits for their individual usage. Try turning your phone on the “Do Not Disturb” setting and keeping track of time to effectively limit how often you use social media platforms. 

3. Try meditation — Take a deep breath and relax! Meditation helps you focus on your personal well-being and reduce feelings of depression and anxiety that you may feel while being stuck inside for 10 days of quarantine. Meditation creates a sleep-like state that allows your body to engage in a deep rest. Additionally, studies have shown that meditation increases activity in areas of the brain that control metabolism and heart rate. This brain activity contributes to this deep state of rest, and the rest period assists your body in decreasing depression and anxiety. Other benefits of meditation include alleviating chronic pain, asthma, and high blood pressure. 

4. Have a sleep schedule — While it may seem like a good idea to sleep away the pandemic, an unbalanced sleep schedule can decrease happiness and healthiness and increase your stress levels. Try getting eight hours of sleep every night and setting a specific time to put away your phone and other electronic gadgets to prepare your body for a good night’s rest. Our phones and electronics emit blue light, which affects the production of melatonin, a hormone that naturally controls your sleep cycle. Not only will being on your phone before bed make it harder for you to fall asleep, but you’ll also feel more tired when you wake up the next morning.

5. Make mealtimes count — Preparing home-cooked meals has been shown to be significantly healthier than grabbing fast food. Additionally, cooking at home not only provides you with a new hobby, but it also allows you to have something to look forward to everyday. Structured mealtimes have a lot of benefits and are essential for our social, physiological, and biological well-being. 

Your mental health is just as important as your physical health. To stay positive during the pandemic, try to stay active, take breaks from social media, have a sleep schedule, and make meal times count. Make sure to keep these small, everyday tips in mind as we continue to weather the storm of COVID-19 together!

References

American Academy of Sleep Medicine (2017). “Sleep Regularity Is Important for the Happiness and Well-Being of College Students.” ScienceDaily.

Bekalu, M. A., McCloud, R. F., & Viswanath, K. (2019). Association of social media use with social well-being, positive mental health, and self-rated health: Disentangling routine use from emotional connection to use. Health Education & Behavior, 46(2_suppl), 69S-80S. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198119863768.

Mental Health America, Inc. (2021). “Meditation.” Mental Health America. 

Walden University (2021). “Five Mental Benefits of Exercise.” Walden University.

Walton, Alice (2017). “6 Ways Social Media Affects Our Mental Health.” Forbes Magazine. 

Edited by Clara Boothby and Vaishnavi Muralikrishnan