Covid-19: without Sport what are the Effects on Body and Mind

since Covid-19 has drastically changed the lifestyles of millions of people. Just think of the absence of sport and physical activity, which is negatively affecting physical fitness and mental health. The closure of gyms, soccer fields, swimming pools, parks, dance and fitness centers, in fact, is preventing many from engage in the usual sporting or physical activities, individual or group, outside their homes.

Covid-19 and Sport: The United Nations document

The consequences, according to a United Nations paper last May 2020, are different: we tend to be less physically active, sleep becomes irregular, we do not follow a "correct and balanced diet. All this leads to weight gain. and a loss of physical fitness.

The WHO, the World Health Organization, recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity or 75 minutes of high-intensity physical activity per week as the ideal workout for staying healthy. However, it is not always possible to train at home.

In the best of cases, mats, weights, ropes or, for the most equipped, exercise bikes and treadmills make their entry into the living rooms and bedrooms. Often, however, it is the space that is lacking, a circumstance that makes it much more difficult to engage in physical exercise and to be constant.

In a pandemic context, without a sporting routine rule, physical health and mental health are continually put to the test: the immune system has fewer defenses; disorders and pathologies related to the sedentary lifestyle arise, which can also become chronic.

Not to mention the impacts of the absence of sport on mental health, which can aggravate the stress or anxiety that many will experience in the face of isolation from normal social life, economic worries, difficulties to be faced and the idea of ​​becoming ill or that the virus affects a family member. An apprehensive state, that caused by the state of emergency, which often finds beneficial outlet in a swim, a run, in a spinning lesson, now denied.

To suffer from this condition of seclusion without sport dictated by the pandemic are mainly young people, who usually find a form of socializing and sharing among peers in activities outside the home.

Sport is also an excellent antidote against pandemic stress or Pandemic Fatigue, as the WHO defined it, and to combat the so-called post Coronavirus cognitive fog that accompanies subjects recovered from the virus for even a prolonged time.

Loss of muscle tone and volume

Reduction of physical strength

Decreased elasticity

Risk of developing or worsening chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension

Worst hormone balance

Lowering of lung capacity

Stress and anxiety

Insomnia or sleep disturbances

, dedicating himself to housework, going up and down the stairs as if they were a step, dancing, doing aerobics in the living room. With a mat, simple weights and a fitness ball, however, you can maintain muscle strength in training: you do not need large spaces, but it is essential that you move at all ages. With a common stationary bike, however, you can follow seven complete workouts with stationary bikes and several effective programs.

If you do not have equipment, you can work with everyday household items: instead of weights, green light for plastic bottles, books, sacks of clothes or tin cans. What about the initial warm-up? Towels for arm and shoulder stretches or a common and ubiquitous broomstick are ideal.

trying to vary;

Be constant and motivated: psychophysical well-being must be the main motivation;

Goals: setting small or large goals helps to be consistent;

Proper nutrition: plan meals, preferring healthy foods, and do not give in to cheats.

with Ariane Ravazzi of YogaEssential

Further information and updates on 2019-nCov

For more detailed information on the new Coronavirus, on correct prevention, on infections in Italy, on the rules to be respected and on the quarantine procedures, we recommend reading the dedicated articles:

• Coronavirus 2019-nCoV: How to Recognize the First Symptoms and What to Do
• New Coronavirus: Rules to Follow
• Coronavirus: how to prevent the risk of contagion from 2019 nCoV
• New Coronavirus vaccine: updates
• Coronavirus: prevention and updates on the 2019 nCoV infection in Italy
• Coronavirus and SARS: similarities and differences on infection and transmission of the virus
• Maskne or Acne da Mask: What is it? Why does it manifest itself?
• Templates: Comparative Types, Functions and Methods of Use
• Physical Activity and Masks