It can be a frustrating experience to test positive for Covid-19, regardless of whether it’s your first time falling ill. For fully vaccinated individuals, Covid-19 may feel more like you’re down with the flu; even so, we want to feel better as soon as we can.
Here are a few tips on how you can recover quicker from Covid-19 and smoothen your recovery at home.
Make sure you’re eating right.
A healthy diet is key to your recovery. After all, your body needs fuel to fight off the infection. A good diet means balanced meals: your plate should have whole grains, lean proteins, and an ample serving of fruits and vegetables. Additionally, try to avoid deep-fried and processed foods, as well as spicy dishes.
You can also consider supplementing your diet with vitamins. For example, Vitamin D tablets can help to boost your immune system and may aid your recovery.
Stay hydrated.
On top of eating well, you should also ensure that you’re drinking enough water to replace any lost fluids and to help with soothing any dry or sore throats. The best, of course, is to drink plain water.
If you’d like to jazz it up a bit, you could add a slice of lemon or mint leaves in your water.
Get quality sleep.
Quality sleep has many health benefits, including improving your immunity and aiding your body’s recovery. Having lots of rest can help to speed up your recovery (with how sleep-deprived Singaporeans reportedly are, you may have plenty of sleep to catch up on).
To help you get better sleep, you can:
- Avoid using your phone before bedtime, as blue light can affect the quality of your sleep
- Make sure your bedroom is quiet, dark (or dimly lit) and relaxing
- Create a pre-sleep ritual (such as reading a book or doing light stretches) that’ll help you ease into going to bed
Mind your mental health.
Falling ill with Covid-19 can be stressful and upsetting. For those who don’t stay alone, you may also be worried about spreading the virus to the loved ones who are staying with you as well.
Our physical health is linked intricately to our mental health. As such, it’s important that you pay attention to how you’re feeling and reach out to your friends and family if you find that you need help to cope with your emotions and stress during this period.
Other good mental health habits you can adopt are:
- Learning how to practise mindfulness
- Doing deep breathing exercises
- Starting a journal to jot down your thoughts and emotions
Look after your gut health.
Did you know that your gut (and your gut health) plays a significant role in your immune system? The ‘good bacteria’ in your gut can affect the rest of your body, including the condition of your brain, heart and kidneys.By looking after your gut health, you’re also caring for your overall physical health.
You can boost your gut health by:
- Eating a diverse diet of whole foods
- Taking a prebiotic and probiotic supplement
- Identifying foods that you’re intolerant of and minimising intake of these foods
As much as you may be in a rush to recover, be kind to your progress and don’t push yourself unnecessarily. Everyone’s body is different and would require a different amount of time to bounce back after a bout with Covid-19. Even after testing negative, take things slowly to rebuild your strength and stamina.
If you find that you need more medical support, speak to a doctor on the DA app anytime you need. You can also purchase OTC medication on DA Marketplace, with free delivery to your home.
