The saying goes "Health is Wealth" is true. Health is like an oxygen mask; here's why the airplane steward instructs you to put on your oxygen mask first before you can help others into theirs during inflight emergency. Like health, you cannot give what you don't have. How can you help others and save them if you are not capably healthy yourself? Achieving optimal health is a process, not an event. Here are several health tools to equip yourself while at home:

   - Stress hormones affect your respiratory and cardiovascular systems. During the stress response, our body is in fight or flight mode. You breathe faster and heart races in an effort to quickly distribute oxygen-rich blood to your body. ... But this also raises your blood pressure. As a result, frequent or chronic stress will make your heart work too hard for too long. So, practice mindfulness, deep breathing exercises, yoga, respect your environment, have a positive attitude and always be grateful for what you have today and live as if it's your best day.

  - Our motivation, emotions and intellect govern our behavior and vice versa and can sabotage all our health efforts and goals. A crisis can trigger increase in alcohol intake and smoking. Smoking and Alcohol are known to be detrimental to your health. For men, limit your drinks to 2 a day and women to 1 drink a day. Also lack of sleep for example can cause high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and depression. And it might be harder for you to learn and remember things. Set a regular sleep routine and stick with it. And do your best to get 7-8 hours a night. 

   - Overall health can be positively impacted by high level of spiritual health. It was found that people experiencing a life changing event such as post traumatic event may deal with their situation in a more positive manner and be more resilient. Prayer provides stress relief in a variety of ways, relieves that feeling of loneliness. Faith in a Higher Being is a source of hope to many individuals and the strength to carry on.

   - Physical health can influence what we think, how we feel and what we do. Food and exercise are fuel to our body, per Hippocrates, “If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too much or not too little, we would have found the safest way to health”. Eat whole nutrient dense foods daily and exercise up to 150 minutes a week to prevent and improve any chronic medical condition you may have.

At Doctor for Life we care for our patients whole well being. Staying home is not an excuse to neglect your health routine. So stay well and look for creative ways to fill up your time, reconnect, recalibrate and learn new ways to improve your health.