Slí na Sláinte Coordinator Tara Curran on how to make the most of the move to Phase 2 of the COVID-19 Roadmap for your mental and physical health

On Friday 5th June, the Government agreed to accelerate the Roadmap to Reopen Society and Business, which has been made possible thanks to the progress made by the Irish people in suppressing COVID-19.

As a result, from Monday the 8^th of June our world expanded a little bit more and we can now travel within our own county or up to 20km from home whichever is the greatest. We can also see family or friends in groups of up to six people, sports teams can train together, and we can travel to our favourite parks, forests, or beaches once they are within the travel restrictions.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines a healthy person as being physically, mentally, and socially well and throughout the long weeks of lockdown taking regular exercise was a key recommendation.

The health benefits of regular exercise to keep us physically well are widely recognised; regular movement helps reduce blood pressure, cholesterol and greatly decreases our overall risk of heart disease and stroke. Exercise particularly in green or blue space has many mental health benefits, helping to boost our mood and reduce stress however, throughout lockdown we have been missing the equally important social health benefits of getting active with others.

As we move into this new phase of the restrictions, it is a great time to get moving outdoors with friends, neighbours or family and reap the many social health benefits. If you have been cocooning and have been less active recently, I recommend that you take your time and ease back into activity gently.

Remember to:

• Always warm up before you take exercise.
• Start slowly and pick up the pace as you feel able to.
• Include some simple muscle strength activities into your routine.
• Take rest days.
• Vary the activity you do.
• Warm down with some simple stretches
• Remember to maintain physical distance of 2 metres and practice regular handwashing and good respiratory etiquette if you are exercising with friends or neighbours.

A great place to start moving again and gain all the physical, mental, and social health benefits of exercise is on one of the 230 community based Slí na Sláinte walking routes nationally.  Slí na Sláinte routes are suitable for all fitness levels, they are not too long and are on solid flat terrain.

We have a range of exercises to help you get back to regular exercise which you can view here.

We are here for you

The Irish Heart Foundation’s nurse support line is available five days a week. Anyone living with heart disease and stroke who has concerns or questions about the coronavirus can contact the nurse support line on 01 668 5001 or support@irishheart.ie.

The Irish Heart Foundation’s new heart support group is on Facebook. Anyone who lives with heart failure or another heart condition or has a family member living with a heart condition can join here: www.facebook.com/groups/heartsupportnetwork/

The Irish Heart Foundation runs 21 stroke support groups and 5 heart failure groups around the country. All these groups have moved to telephone and online support. For more information, see https://irishheart.ie/get-support/.

The Irish Heart Foundation in conjunction with the HSE National Stroke Programme, has launched a new telephone support service for stroke patients who have recently been discharged from hospital. For more information, see here.

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If found this article helpful and would like to donate to the Irish Heart Foundation please see here.