This Washington Post headline caught my eye: “Quarantine reset: 5 steps to make you feel more in control.” This sounded like good news, since we are all feeling a loss of control in the face of this pandemic.
No one is sure when therapies for COVID-19 will be
developed, much less a vaccine. No one is sure how restarting the economy will
go, or if there will be a spike in infections when we do, or if the virus will
be seasonal, or what “normal” will look like on the other side of the
outbreak.
I opened the article expecting to find sophisticated advice
that would help with all of this. Here is what I learned:
- Take a shower, standing under cold water for at
least a few seconds. - Change your clothes, dressing as if for a normal
day. - Make your bed.
- Spend ten minutes cleaning the house.
- Get some fresh air.
You’re probably thinking you could have written that. It
doesn’t take an expert to know that making your bed is a good idea.
Actually, the article is based on advice from
experts. For instance, the suggestion that you make your bed at the start of
the day comes from a therapist who says, “While we are under quarantine
and so much of our lives are out of our control, it’s important to feel in
control of your immediate environment. Keeping both yourself and your home
environment clean and tidy will significantly improve your sense of calm.”
The cold shower suggestion comes from a 2016 report that
people who took such showers experienced “an increase in perceived energy
levels (including many reported comparisons to the effect of caffeine).”
Five studies of undergraduates found that more formal clothing helps with
cognition and in particular with abstract processing.
A psychological study showed that people with cluttered homes are more likely to feel stressed and fatigued. And regarding fresh air, the American Heart Association reports that “nature presents scenes that gently capture your…
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