We at Khulisa know that parents are working hard to support their families at the moment. They are facing huge challenges in how they live their lives due to the coronavirus. We have put together the following guides to support parents in managing their own wellbeing.
- Emotional Wellbeing Support
- Physical Wellbeing Support – This guide
- Financial Support
As a reminder, government assistance is available through the gov.uk/coronavirus website.
2. Physical Wellbeing Support
This section of this guide focuses on Nutrition, Sleep & Exercise
Eating Healthily
We are what we eat! It’s important to fuel our body and mind. A balanced diet has a positive impact on our moods, improves our sleep and protects us against getting ill.
A balanced diet includes (source):
- Plenty of vegetables, salad and fruit
- A serving of wholemeal cereals and breads, potatoes, pasta and rice at every meal - go for wholegrain varieties wherever possible
- Some milk, yoghurt and cheese
- Some meat, poultry, fish, eggs, beans and nuts
- A very small amount of fats, spreads and oils and a very small amount or no foods and drinks high in fat, sugar and salt
Lockdown is a time to try something new, so involve the family in baking and feel good about what you’ve made together. Here are simple recipe ideas you can try! The next page gives lots of quick, easy, yummy healthy options….
- Frozen banana lollies: (takes 15 minutes and serves 4)
- Easy banana pancakes: (makes 12 pancakes and takes 15 minutes preparation and cooking time)
- Pizza quiches – super easy: (takes 25 minutes and makes 6 mini quiches)
- Spanish omelette: (takes 40 minutes and serves 4-5)
- Homemade pizza (serves 2-4 and takes 1 hour preparation and cooking)
- Baked potato with cheesy mince: (takes 1 hour and serves 4)
Be aware! Some foods/drinks negatively affect your mood and can cause mood swings. Be careful in your consumption of:
- Caffeine
- Energy Drinks
- Alcohol
- Sugar
- White bread, pasta and rice
Sleeping Properly
Anxiety and stress can affect sleep. The less we sleep the more anxious, stressed and emotional we feel!
Top Tips for Good Sleep
- Get exercise every day
- Reduce your sugar and caffeine – no coffee/energy drinks after 3pm
- Avoid social media/phone 1 hour before sleep
- Have a hot milky drink/herbal tea before bedtime
- Write your thoughts in a notebook before sleep so you have less on your mind
- Set a time to wake up so your body has rhythm and routine
- Try the Headspace or CALM apps to calm your mind before sleep
Exercising & Keeping Active
Exercise is so good for us – our body, our mind, our moods, our immune system – being fit helps us fight infection and illness. Below are some (free) ideas to get you moving!
- Go outdoors: Even when we self-isolate, stay indoors and social distance, we can still go out once per day for exercise. You can walk, jog or run locally – at least 20 minutes.
- Pillow Beating: A great way to let out anger, frustration and anxiety when it builds up is beating a pillow. This helps your body release tension and gets you moving.
- Dance: Put on your favourite songs and get moving! Dancing is a great form of exercise and the combination of movement and music helps you both relax, release tension and feel good! Evidence tells us that 20 minutes dancing per day reduces depression. You could even challenge yourself to learn a dance you’ve seen on TikTok!
- Short exercise workouts: There are lots of short workouts from 7 minutes upwards, designed to increase your heart rate, and get your blood flowing, which eases tension and improves our mood. Try Joe Wickes live 9am with the kids or check out 7-minutes workout, Gymondo, or Fiit). If you have access to a skipping rope, a trampoline or a punchbag these are great ways to get moving!
- Online high intensity workouts: There are so many workouts online you can try. You don’t need much space or any equipment to do them and they provide an online ‘coach’ / personal trainer to motivate you! Joe Wicks has many free High Intensity workouts on Youtube.
- Yoga: Yoga can be amazing for helping you get moving as well as helping you relax and breathe. There are many free online yoga sessions which don’t require much space or any equipment, for example Yoga with Adriene on YouTube.
Try Something New
Pick something from this guide and try it for a few days. Encourage other people in your home, or challenge your friends to do the same with you. Try something from the Action for Happiness April calendar:
There are lots of ideas out there to make your month more active, that include things to do with family and friends either at home or online:
Sign up to the ‘CREATE TO CONNECT’ challenge by emailing hello@64millionartists.com to receive a pack.
Create to connect provides ideas to do from home for the month of May – find out more here: http://dothinkshare.com/creative-inspiration/create-to-connect
Get active and notice how much more connected you can be to your community!