The coronavirus has presented all of us with many new and unusual challenges. For many of us, the best thing we can do is stay indoors, if we’re able to do so, and we must maintain good routines to keep our physical and mental wellbeing in good shape.

Stick to a Routine
When you’re at home, whether you’re working or not, it’s important to create a routine and stick to it. Go to bed and get up at the same time each day, with the goal of getting 7-9 hours’ worth of sleep every night.

If you’re working from home, it’s important to work in a comfortable environment, while scheduling in regular breaks in for lunch and movement, all the while keeping some time aside to wind down each evening.

Exercise Every Day



Exercise is a great way to manage not only physical health but your anxiety and stress levels too. There are numerous ways you can go about exercising, even during the lockdown:
• Try out online training such as HIIT, Pilates and spin.
• If you have an exercise bike, treadmill or cross-trainer, these are ideal ways to keep your stamina up.
• Getting out and about in the garden, whether that’s playing with the kids or working out outside, will help to boost fitness and your vitamin D levels.
• Take a daily walk or bike ride with your family, where possible.

Eat Well

Although, it’s very tempting, it’s important not to rely solely on convenience foods, particularly when there’s a good chance that your cupboards are full of ingredients to make nutritiously beneficial meals.
• Eat five portions of fruit and veg each day, to ensure you’re consuming a range of different minerals and vitamins. Fresh, dried, frozen and tinned options will all count towards this daily total.
• Eat little and often, and stick to healthier options such as fruits, nuts and seeds for snacking on.
• Take a daily supplement of Vitamin D, this is usually recommended during the winter, but since we’re all indoors more at the moment, it’s a good idea to take these until we can get back outside more frequently.

Don’t Overindulge

Too much caffeine, alcohol and sugar, can not only impact your mental health – causing further irritation and anxiety – but it can also your physical wellbeing, and even the overall quality of the sleep you’re getting.

Try cutting down on how much caffeine, alcohol and sugar you’re consuming. Perhaps try avoiding caffeine after lunch, and cutting down on alcohol and sugar entirely.
While, it may seem tempting, turning to anything in excess as a coping mechanism will rarely make things easier.

Immerse Yourself in Nature




Humans have an intrinsic connection with nature, and we associate the outdoors with calmness, wellbeing and tranquillity. Even if you’re just venturing out into the garden, just take a few moments to breathe in the fresh air and look at what’s around you.
You may even wish to start a project that you’ve been putting off for some time, such as cleaning out the shed, planting some flowers or making the garden a more wildlife-friendly environment, by making a bird or hedgehog house.

Stay Connected

Even while taking social distancing into account, there are plenty of ways to stay in touch with loved ones. Make time to call them regularly, particularly older family members.
It can be challenging during these times to spend so much time with the people you live with, but it’s important to respect each other during these times and try to enjoy this rarest of opportunities to spend so much time with those in your household.

Hales Wellbeing Initiatives

At Hales Care, the wellbeing of both our dedicated staff and our service users is of the utmost importance to us. As such, we’ve rolled out several initiatives which allow us to extend our support in such trying and uneasy times.


Exercise Initiatives

As we’ve already mentioned, exercise is an essential part of lockdown health and wellbeing, which is why we’re rolling out FREE online Zumba classes open to all. We have partnered with a professional Zumba Instructor, Andy Brown, to encourage engagement and light-hearted fun while keeping everyone fit and energised at home.

Our first Zumba fitness video is now available for everyone to stream here.



Wellbeing Support

We know that these times are tough for everyone, and we’re offering wellbeing support to our Hales Care staff. Whether self-isolating or working as hard as ever, we recognise that anxiety, worry, loneliness and concern for family and friends, may be hard to process at the moment.
If any of our staff require the support, then our free Employee Assistance Helpline can offer them the following benefits:
• 24/7 telephone support from qualified nurses, counsellors and legal professionals.
• Up to six free counselling sessions, via telephone or video call.
• Access to the Health & Wellbeing Hub, which helps staff manage everything from family and relationships to physical and emotional health.

We’ve also set up a completely free Bereavement Support Helpful to help those who are struggling to come to terms with the loss of a loved one during this time.

If you have any questions about our approach to Coronavirus, or you’re interested in working for Hales Care, do not hesitate to contact us today.