April 6th is World Day for Physical Activity – How to Stay Active During the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 6th is the annual World Day for Physical Activity, a day when people around the world are encouraged to be active for at least 30 minutes.
Physical activity is helpful for everyone, including people living with epilepsy for the following reasons:
- Helps you stay fit and healthy
- Reduces your risk of health issues, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes
- Improves mood
- Gives you more energy
- Contributes to better sleep
- May contribute to better seizure control
As we are all aware, being physically active contributes to our physical and mental health, both of which are important during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, with places like gyms, community centres, pools and yoga studios closed and many of us staying home, it can be hard to be physically active. If this is the case for you, simply check out some of our tips and ideas below:
- Take short active breaks throughout the day and do things like walking around your house or up and down the stairs a couple of times per day
- Follow an online exercise video, many of which require no equipment and can be found on YouTube
- Use home exercise machines (ex. treadmill, elliptical, bike, etc.) if you have them
- Do gardening and/or lawn work
- Go for a walk, run or bike ride around your neighborhood
- If you go outside to be physically active, be sure to keep at least 6 feet away from others and wash your hands after
We hope these tips help all of you stay physically active during the COVID-19 pandemic! Find out more about World Day for Physical Activity here.