More and more restrictions were announced to curb the spread of coronavirus this week. We spend more time staying at home, and most of the time we might be sitting on the sofa. But have you ever thought that limited activity engagement at home may also affect your mood?
A recent research pointed out that in situations where personal choices of activities are constrained, such as staying at home for an extended time, mood regulation system might be impaired among people with lower mood and the risk of depression might increase. Another research also pointed out that sedentary behaviour with limited physical activities throughout adolescence is associated with a higher risk of depressive symptoms in the long run. Although further study might be needed to support these findings, keeping light physical activities are beneficial to both physical and mental health.
Some light physical activities such as doing housework, standing while using the computer or drinking water, walking around at home regularly, stretching, etc., will do. Furthermore, developing a habit of doing home exercises might benefit our body and mind if we can make some space for exercises at home.
