If you were used to exercising for a short term goal such as getting in shape for the summer or as conditioning for your favorite sport, a pandemic restricting you from all of those purposes is probably not the best encouragement to keep working out. These are a few reasons on how working out will be crucial to your quarantine survival. 

Be happier & Reduce Stress 

When you work out, it lowers stress hormones in your body and o stimulates endorphins. Endorphins are mood boosters that can give you that “happy” feeling. Most of the stress you might be experiencing during this time is mental and physiological stress. According to Harvard Health, verified trials have proven that athletes and patients received benefits from exercise as it reduced anxiety disorders and clinical depression. It is crazy to think that by putting physical stress on your body, it could actually relieve the stress in your mind, but that is the way the human body works! 

I used to find it very hard to get out of bed and exercise, but honestly, there comes a time after two months in quarantine that exercise is actually what you are looking forward to. You are yearning for just a couple minutes or an hour, where it feels as though we are not in a science fiction movie where all the characters have to wear face masks and going to the grocery store is the adventure of a lifetime. 

Sleep better & Think more Clearly 

According to Johns Hopkins Center of Sleep , exercise does not only help you fall asleep faster but it also improves the quality of your sleep. You could sleep for 12 hours, tossing and turning, but you will not feel as rested as if you get seven hours of deep sleep. Personally, I find I sleep better when I feel exhausted and I’ve worked hard,  rather than when I have a lazy day. When you work hard during the day and recover at night, you develop a healthy balance. 

Research has shown that even just moderate exercise can increase cognitive function in the brain which actually gives you the ability to tackle various activities and it can also improve problem solving. By enhancing our cognitive function levels, we can better tackle life’s uncertainties. 

Be Energized & Productive 

Activity that requires physical effort will raise your heart rate, give you more stamina and actually raise your energy levels. This new found energy provides me with a new drive and determination to finish other tasks. Exercise has that factor on me that makes me feel refreshed. Suddenly, I feel this rush of motivation to work on school assignments or even do everyday chores like cleaning the dishes and doing my laundry that I would have otherwise procrastinated. 

Motivation is what I lack the most when I am stuck in my home. It is so weird to think that I used to do twice as much work with a way less flexible schedule and now I struggle, having all the time in my hands, to finish simple everyday tasks. There is something about being busy that fuels my productivity. I find exercise to be that fuel when busy is all that I am not during quarantine. 

When you program a regular workout routine during your day, it helps create structure in chaos. There is little that we can control at the moment, but one thing we can control is how we keep living every day that comes ahead.