6 Ways to Deal with Fatigue While Recovering from Covid-19

With the great efforts of healthcare workers, so far, more than 22 million people have recovered from COVID-19 infection. But the recovery from COVID-19 can be harsh. Studies have shown that people who face serious complications of COVID-19 may have long-lasting effects such as fatigue, breathlessness and loss of appetite.

In the recent ESCMID Conference on Coronavirus Disease held online, scientists presented a study which concluded that more than half of patients who had recovered from COVID-19 present with persistent fatigue, irrespective of the severity of their infection.

Here are some tips which can help in dealing with fatigue:

1. Take it slow

Your body has been through a disease which has left your body weak. Do not overstrain your body by taking up labouring tasks that can be postponed. In order to get healthy again, you will have to take proper rest. Until you make complete recovery indulge in simple activities like watering the plants.

2. Do not overstrain

Segregate the tasks which are not necessary immediately, such as exercising or doing laundry and delay them if possible. Save up your energy by performing most of the activities without standing, bending or walking.

3. Take a break

Take frequent short breaks, be it a 15-minute break, while indulging in any strenuous work. It would help you refresh your mind, thus you may feel less fatigued.

4. Maintain your sleep cycle

You should go to bed and wake up at around the same time daily to regulate your circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm tells us to sleep at night and wake up when the sun rises. Regular sleep helps in reducing fatigue.

5. Keep the stress away

You must get rid of the stress factors as they can make you feel fatigued both mentally and physically. Indulge in some creative activities or anything that makes you feel happy. Activities like reading new books, painting, art and crafts or watching your favourite movie can help divert your mind from your anxiety.

6. Conserve your energy

It is extremely necessary to save your energy while recovering. Here are the four P’s that you need to stick to while recovering:

1. Planning: Plan your activities according to that time of the day when you feel most energetic. Planning ahead would help you perform the more tiring tasks in that period of time and allocate other times to less exhaustive chores.

2. Pacing: Do not rush through the tasks, break your activities into smaller steps and pace through them to sustain your energy levels for long.

3. Prioritising: Prioritise your tasks according to their necessity. Postpone all the unnecessary tasks until you feel better.

4. Positioning: Keep all your necessary items within a short distance of your resting area. This would prevent the waste of energy of fetching them each time.

For more information, read our article on Things to do if you are recovering from COVID-19 at home.

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