There is no doubt we are living in the most extraordinary times. More than 100 days into some form of lockdown, in the midst of this crazy pandemic, we are all starting to feel the impact of mental fatigue and the mental strain of living in this new normal.
Lockdown Fatigue
I have started to struggle with this in the past few weeks and I know my kids are feeling it too. I am sure that most of us can relate to at least some of the symptoms of lockdown fatigue, including:
- Feeling tired
- Brain fog and forgetfulness
- Interrupted or poor sleep
- Stressed and anxious
- Inability to focus
I am especially struggling with brain fog, forgetfulness, and an inability to focus on a single task. I find my mind wandering off when I’m meant to be focusing on the task at hand. I forget important facts in online meetings that were only given to me 5 minutes earlier and I have to check and recheck my facts constantly.
I’ve found my children seem to be battling with focus and feeling tired too. Ava especially, now a preteen seems to be battling and has napped and slept later more in the past couple of months than ever before. That and her recent diagnosis with ADHD and it’s been a struggle to get her school work done. She lands up asking for a break every 5 minutes.
Tips For Improving Brain Health
We have developed a few coping strategies over the past couple of months to try and keep us all as mentally strong as possible.
Exercise Regularly
I exercise 5-6 times a week and encourage exercise in my kids. As a family, we go for an hour long run (the girls bike ride) every Saturday. Sundays and during the week we manage to get in a few dog walks as a family too, over and above my normal exercise. This is so important in releasing endorphins and helping us all feel like our spirits are lifted, not only that the change of scenery and being outdoors getting a bit of Vitamin D does us all the world of good.
Get Plenty Of Sleep
This is a tough one for me, because I’m a natural insomniac, but I have found that keeping a bedtime routine for both myself and my girls has helped. They are still required to be in their beds at 8pm every evening and lights out by 8:30 pm. I have also drastically reduced my alcohol consumption, it pains me to admit this, but I have realized (thanks to alcohol ban) that wine does in fact disrupt my sleeping patterns. So now I allow myself a glass or two once or twice a week, instead of that glass of wine to unwind at the end of each workday, and I’ve also stopped drinking caffeine after 3pm, I’ve become a tea tottler guys, who would have thought that I’d be sipping a black Rooibos tea and actually enjoying it!
Eat A Healthy Diet
This is one that my husband and I fight about often. He loves to “treat” our girls to sweets, where I prefer to reward them in other ways. We do follow a healthy, clean diet that is low in carbs and high in fats and proteins which has also gone a long way in not just managing brain wellness (your brain needs fats as these are the essential building blocks and also fat assists with memory and learning) and this has had many health benefits over and above maintain healthy brain function.
Supplements
We have been trying out Xcel from Tibb Health Sciences, which is a herbal complex aimed at preserving and enhancing cognitive brain function by slowing down the process of degeneration of neurons through antioxidants, nervine tonics and by improving healthy circulation.
Overtime stress has a massive negative impact on the brain and brain function and there is no doubt that we are living through some of the most stressful times of our lives.
In addition, Xcel is indicated for ADHD so I am interested to see what impact it will have on Ava’s concentration and attention.
Find out more about Xcel here:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tibbhealth/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tibbhealth/
Disclosure – this post is done in collaboration with Tibb Health Sciences.
