Work from Home and Women’s Mental Health

The outbreak of Covid 19 has taken a toll on women’s mental and physical health, with women taking care of family, children’s online education, household chores and working professionally. According to a survey, women working in offices pre-Covid times were in a more peaceful state than women working from home today. This is because there was a clear demarcation between office and home hours. However, today, women have been constantly juggling between the two which is a major cause for stress. A nutritionist for women can help women tide through this period with right advice that can help deal with these changes. Some tips to help women to cope up with the challenges of working from home and managing stress: 1) Build a routine – Before starting off the day, outline tasks that need to be done at home and work. It will help manage your time for completing all written tasks. 2) Focus on good diet – Eating the right diet is just as important. Lower your stress levels by having foods that will reduce your cortisol levels like whole fruits and vegetables, whole grains, pulses, eggs, lean meat, milk and milk product and keep away from processed and packaged foods. Foods like walnuts, almonds, fatty fish, avocados, seeds, etc provide the omega 3 rich fats for mental stability. Alternatively, probiotics coming from yogurt, fermented foods, buttermilk, kefir, etc have potential benefits on mental health. rn3) Engage in physical activity – It might seem a bit challenging in the current situation but a physical activity for 30 - 40 minutes will help relieve stress after long working hours and keep you fresh and energized. rn4) Get adequate sleep – Getting proper sleep is essential as your brain and body needs time to rest and repair. This helps to deal with stress better. 5) Engage in relaxing activities – Relax by devoting some time for yourself to do activities that you like. Practice stress management practices like deep breathing exercises, mindfulness, meditation, yoga, etc to help manage stress better. Based on the above, the right approach would be to have a nutritionist for women to guide you through the do’s and don’ts of food and lifestyle changes. And for women who are looking to start a family, it is important to enroll into a pre-natal nutrition program for good health, both physical and mental.