Coronavirus: Eight things that have kept us going in lockdown – BBC

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way people around the world live their lives. People in Britain, like everyone else, have been spending most of their time at home, leaving the house only for essential reasons. Regardless of where you live, we can all borrow a little from each other’s coping playbooks.

It looks like Britons have some good coping strategies in place that have kept them going in these difficult times. According to BBC, these are the most common practices amongst its workforce that are stuck at home:

• Socialize virtually: Contacting important people in your lives over the phone, social media or video conferencing is a key factor in coping while being at home.
• Watch films and use streaming services:  Build new routines and let TV bring your family together to seek comfort in shared experiences. 
• Spend time with your family and help neighbours: Community spirit has also grown in Britain, with eight in 10 adults saying they think people are doing more to help others than before the pandemic began. But while for some, spending more time with family is helping them survive, for others being in a confined space for long periods of time under high levels of stress is compounding existing problems.
• Exercise outside and in: Exercise is not only keeping people fit, but it is also helping people deal with the crisis itself.

“Exercise has a dramatic anti-depressive effect,” explains David Linden, professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University. “It blunts the brain’s response to physical and emotional stress.”

• Cook, read, spend time gardening: More than four in 10 Britons are turning to cooking, gardening or reading – or all three – to help deal with current restrictions, according to the Office for National Statistics.
• Do DIY and learn something new: With some Britons in lockdown now having more time on their hands, almost a third are using those extra hours to do DIY tasks and more than one in 10 are learning something new.
• Spend more on food and shop locally: As part of their new lockdown routines, Britons are also changing shopping habits, placing more importance on food and cooking at home.