Making the best of the Coronavirus Lockdown

The world is experiencing an unparalleled lockdown due to the rampant spread of the coronavirus, with schools, airports, cinemas, sports stadiums, city centers, beaches and entire countries closed off, and 70% of the human population urged to stay home, avoid travel and shun social interaction.   

As the majority of the global population is expected to keep themselves indoors, and ‘socially distant’ for one month, it’s important to find different ways in which to make the very best of these unprecedented circumstances.  
Fortunately, the Domino Chinese team have come up with five productive ways to make the very most of your time behind closed doors. Follow these tips and you’ll have fun without getting in trouble with the authorities , becoming grossly overweight, developing alcohol dependence, spending the month in a stoned haze , or contributing to the ‘corona lockdown baby boom’ which is anticipated to overwhelm maternity wards in 2021!

1, Catch up on your reading

Buying books to read, but never finding the time to read them, seems to be a vice that is all too common. Fortunately, this lockdown will provide an excellent opportunity to catch up on all those books that are gathering dust on your shelves – afterall, you can’t watch Netflix all day and all night, can you? 

For those who don’t have a pile of books waiting to be read, get online and order some. Here are some excellent lists to inspire your reading, ‘40 books to read before you die , the Ultimate Reading List and the Big Read’s top 100 novels of all time!

2, Get into Shape

The gyms may be closed but that doesn’t mean these few weeks can’t be used to adopt a more healthy lifestyle.

According to a study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, it takes less than two months for a new behavior to become an automatic habit. If you wish to rise from the coronavirus lockdown feeling healthier and happier, start with these easy steps.

1, Drink more water – Drinking water first thing in the morning is extremely beneficial for the body. One large glass of water will fire up your metabolism, hydrate you, flush out toxins, give your brain fuel, and may even make you eat less. 

2, A healthy breakfast – Now that you don’t need to rush out to work in the morning, there’s no excuse for not enjoying the most important meal of the day. A nutritious breakfast will energize you for the day, improve your concentration, put you in a better mood  and help keep your diet in check. 

3, Get enough sleep – Another opportunity this lockdown provides is to ensure you get at least eight hours of sleep a night. While we are sleeping, our bodies heal and repair. Less than 8 hours sleep can increase the risk for serious conditions like diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, stroke and also contributes to weight gain. Eight hours sleep per night is the key to a healthy lifestyle . 

4, Establish a new exercise routine – Regular exercise reduces the risk of heart disease, increases your strength, flexibility and self-confidence, improves memory, helps you to sleep better and boosts happiness levels. With the gyms and parks closed, a excellent way to exercise at home is with the NY Times’ 7 minute workout which has been designed to, ‘fulfill the latest mandates for high-intensity effort, which essentially combines a long run and a visit to the weight room into about seven minutes of steady discomfort — all of it based on science.’ 

3, Learn a new language

Learning a new language is a brilliant way to use your time while confined indoors. It will give you a sense of achievement, provide you with the opportunity to make new friends, as well as supporting cognitive development and supporting good mental health.

If you’re planning to invest time in learning a new language, you’d do well to choose, Mandarin Chinese, a language spoken by over 20% of the world’s population! Furthermore, with China expected to dominate trade and economic growth throughout the 21st century, learning to speak Chinese could do wonders for your career.

If you are tempted to take the next step towards learning Chinese, the best place you can start is right here, with Domino Chinese. Check out the Domino Chinese ‘Introduction to Chinese’ course – it’s fun and completely free .
https://www.youtube.com/embed/fS1nN0wiFHk

4, Get Creative

Getting creative during the lockdown will help safeguard you from utter boredom and give you a reason for getting up in the morning. 

If you are motivated, and have the right guidance, you can learn piano, watercolouring , graphic design or the flute within one month. Not only will you have a new creative outlet, you’ll also be developing your confidence, self-control, cognitive function and motor skills, ensuring you’ll rise from the Coronavirus lockdown smarter, more interesting and more talented.  So whether it’s learning a musical instrument, water colouring, knitting, graffiti, flower arranging, poetry, or interior design, now is the best opportunity you’ll have to pursue your creative ambitions!

5, Computer Games

Yes, playing computer games is an excellent way to spend the lockdown. 

Don’t believe all that negativity that gaming makes you irresponsible, compulsive, withdrawn and potentially psychopathic. The truth, as proven by researchers from leading universities, is that gaming is good for you and has many cognitive benefits .

‘video games are highly stimulating….. With the intensity and complexity of each game comes quick analysis, thinking, strategizing, learning to deal with stress and inductive reasoning followed by hypothesis testing. Further, it has been discovered that video games can help those who suffer from mental disorders such as anxiety, depression, antisocial personality disorder (APD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and Alzheimer’s disease.’

And during this time when we are being told to strongly adhere to ‘social distancing’ guidelines, gaming provides an avenue for us to have fun and interact with others in a safe environment – even if we are trying to obliterate our friends with a rocket launcher.

According to the Guardian newspaper, the best games to play for social interaction are; Minecraft, Fortnite and GTA Online.

6, Binge watching Television 

I know we only promised you five tips for surviving the Coronavirus lockdown, but there’s a very high chance that you’ll spend a lot of your time watching Netflix.

It may not seem like a productive use of time, but there are some genuine benefits for watching movies and television series. 

Television can expand your knowledge and understanding of the world by watching shows which introduce you to different people, cultures, ideas, and places you might never encounter in real life. 

Movies and series are also good for your emotional well being, sad films have been found to make viewers more appreciative of their own circumstances, while crying during a movie works like a stress reliever, helping balance the chemical imbalances in your body caused by stress, and getting rid of toxins in the body.

Finally, watching comedy shows can help you to forget about the coronavirus’ attempts to up-end modern society and laughter helps increase endorphin levels, which boost immunity to diseases. So watching Neflix will actually protect you from Covid-19.

Be Safe

Whether you decide to spend your time being creative and productive, or you are simply going to slump in front to the TV for rest of the month, just make sure you’re safe and responsible!