When we hear words like social distancing, quarantine and self-isolation, it’s hard not to feel the negative associations — but now’s a good time to reframe how you think about them.

When you begin to see these behaviors as ways to help save lives (including your own) the changes we’ve all been asked to make feel a lot less arduous. Wearing a mask or scarf in public, washing your hands frequently, wiping down surfaces, not touching your face, putting on gloves — look at these new anti-viral routines as acts of love on behalf of your family, friends and neighbors — and for the thousands of doctors, nurses, EMTs and first responders who are fighting for our lives.

Though we are all living confined lives these days, exercise is a fantastic way to boost immunity and keep your body strong, so put on your mask and get out there or stream a class while at home. Sure, lots of movement helps you look and feel good, but it also decreases inflammation, improves the function of every organ in the body and even lifts your mood.

As the New York Times reported, a new study found that among a test group of sedentary people in their 20s, 30s and 40s, regular workouts helped lower levels of depression, hostility and other negative feelings, with mood benefits lingering for weeks even after they stopped working out. The lesson here is to move as much as possible — just a few desk stretches or a few thousand steps around the house every day can do your mind and body a world of good!

When we think of vacation, we often dream about palm trees, ocean breezes and the wonderful feeling of calm that comes with lying in a lounge chair in the sun. While it might be a while before we’re able to zone out on the beach again, we can experience similar feelings of peace and relaxation plus decreased inflammation and increased immunity by using our mandated downtime to start cultivating a meditation practice.

To get started right away, here are a few excellent options online to help you get into the groove and start enjoying the mental, emotional and physical benefits of a regular meditation practice:

• THE WELL offers a daily meditation on Instagram live at 10:30 ET. If you can't join live, you can watch whenever you have time throughout your day.
• Insight Timer offers a library of thousands of meditations, meditative instrumental music and insightful talks and podcasts
• Journey Meditation hosts live real-time meditation group classes all day, every day, led by engaging instructors with decades of experience
• Headspace is a subscription-based meditation and mindfulness app that just added free meditations especially for New Yorkers, but anyone can access and enjoy the benefits

One more wonderful thing to do with your downtime? Sleep well! If you’re out of practice, now is a great time to retrain your body and upgrade your sleep habits. For a little insight on how to do it, take a look at my primer on how to get great sleep. Starting now, remember to:

• Turn off the news a few hours before bed in order to clear your head of stressful thoughts and imagery.
• Turn in at roughly the same time every night — your body loves routine and consistency.
• Get a daily dose of morning light — have your morning coffee outside to expose your eyes and face to sunlight, which will increase serotonin production, and help regulate the release of sleep-inducing melatonin in the evening.
• Treat yourself to nightly pre-sleep, wind-down rituals: try a hot bath to relax your muscles and release tension; read an actual paper book of poetry or inspirational topic; try some restorative yoga; do a bit of gratitude-oriented journaling or, if you’re stressed, write down what’s on your mind; and don’t go to bed angry or ruminating on negative thoughts — it will only undermine the quality of your sleep.
• Use your senses to sleep better too! Check out more tips here.

At present, there is no known cure for COVID-19, but we are starting to piece together some of the risk factors that can increase the chances of a poor or fatal outcome.

So far, one of the key factors appears to be metabolic syndrome. And while getting weight issues under control and becoming metabolically healthy doesn’t happen overnight, now is a good time to start focusing on it. One of the simplest ways to do that is to rethink your diet:

• Ramp up colorful, non-starchy veggies — put them in everything and find a way to add them to every meal.
• Load up on prebiotic & probiotic foods — keep your immunity strong by nourishing your gut bacteria.
• Dump the white stuff — as in sugar, potatoes, flour etc. as well as dairy, if it doesn’t agree with you.
• Eliminate processed foods as much as possible in these trying times.
• Cut way back on alcohol — a small glass or two of wine every other day is more than enough.
• Eat your largest meal at lunch and go for a lighter, smaller dinner.

What’s great about herbs and spices is that virtually all of them have positive medicinal effects and add wonderful flavor to a meal — some aid digestion and nutrient absorption; others have antioxidant, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal and anticancer properties. Here are some of my favorite wellness wonders to add to your kitchen:

• Cayenne Pepper: Cayenne contains capsaicin which helps boost the immune system and provides anti-cancer protection.
• Cilantro and Parsley (fresh or dried): Both impart a lively, fresh taste as well as vitamins and minerals.
• Cinnamon: A tasty way to help stabilize blood sugar.
• Peppercorns: The piperine in black pepper can help prevent some cancers, and also contains vitamin C, vitamin A, flavonoids, carotenes and other anti-oxidants to combat free radicals.
• Rosemary: Helps prevent allergies and nasal congestion.
• Turmeric: Turmeric contains curcumin, a substance with powerful anti-inflammatory effects.

Now is an excellent time to get into intermittent fasting (IF) which works fasting into your daily routine, in 14 -to-16-hour increments. Doing so enables your body to enter a prolonged “fasting state” that keeps insulin levels low, reduces blood sugar and signals your body to burn fat stores.

IF also optimizes mitochondrial function – which means greater natural protection against numerous pathogens and diseases, including COVID-19. How to master IF? All you need do is eat all your meals within an 8-10 hour period, eating dinner earlier and breakfast later.

Beating back feelings of loneliness and disconnection in this age of social and physical distancing is a tall order. But despite the challenges, it is possible and it is an extremely important part of your wellbeing. You may just need to reach out a little bit more than usual. Here are some tips:

• Lean on technology — FaceTime, Skype and Zoom add an instant sense of connection (but be sure to lock down your security settings). Being able to see expressions and reactions in real time instantly elevates the conversational experience and may help stave off depression in older adults.
• Create a call list — Get into a regular schedule of touching base with elderly relatives or friends on the phone every few days to check in, see how they are getting along and if they need any assistance with groceries, dog-walking, sweeping the driveway, cutting the lawn and so on.
• Connect with help — If you are struggling emotionally, keep in mind that online therapy, or ‘tele-therapy,’ is a fast and effective way to get extra support. THE WELL offers virtual Support Circles led by Lia Avellino, LCSW, which offer the opportunity to connect with a community and work through issues that are meaningful to you.

Instead of lashing out in times of stress, stop, take a deep breath, get out of your head for a moment and connect with the African spiritual practice of ubuntu, which means "what makes us human is the humanity we show each other."

Ubuntu is all about giving back, caring, respecting and having compassion for others. Right now, we can practice ubuntu by supporting humanitarian organizations (like Ubuntu Pathways) with time, money or supplies.

Now that we're all staying at home time than we could have ever imagined, it’s a good time to pursue any of those subjects or skills you’ve been curious about but never had enough time for. Not only will you add to your knowledge base, but engaging with the unfamiliar can help keep your mind in good shape. Research shows that consistently high levels of curiosity correlate with mental well-being and life satisfaction.

We all have our usual routines and suddenly they’ve all but disappeared. Einstein’s quote works well here too — now is our opportunity to develop new routines, new habits and a host of new behaviors which can help us become healthier, happier people. We have the chance to make our new way of living better! An easy start for new routines is to set a regular time when you wake up, eat your meals and go to bed.

Being able to easily connect with friends, colleagues and loved ones is a great advantage of digital technology. But when it comes to breaking news, being constantly connected can be hard on your mental health. So give yourself permission to tune out.

A little news, perhaps in the morning or briefly after dinner, is easier to process than subjecting yourself to a 24/7 bad news blitzkrieg. There is no good reason to overfeed your anxiety, so know when to step away.

I am a big believer in getting as many nutrients as possible from the foods we eat, but I also know that sometimes we fall short and may need extra support. Now is likely one of those times.

While we don’t have a vaccine or tried-and-true treatment for COVID-19 yet, there is promising research on a number of botanical and nutraceutical agents that can potentially improve the body’s ability to fight off and recover from the illness. They deliver anti-inflammatory and anti-viral benefits — curcumin, quercetin, zinc, N-Acetyl cysteine, vitamins A, C and D, elderberry and more.

Find quercetin and vitamin C in our Superpowder and N-Acetyl cysteine in our Clean-Up Crew. Take advantage of them and give your body a fighting chance. Taken thoughtfully and as directed, these supplements can empower our bodies to help modulate a healthy response to the viral onslaught we are facing right now.