(And other healthy habits you developed during the pandemic)
“When are things going to go back to normal?”
How many people have spent the COVID-19 pandemic asking themselves this question? The long process of overcoming the novel coronavirus has been long and drawn out, bringing plenty of stress and surprises. But it also made people a lot more conscious of the spread of germs—and a large portion of the population started adopting healthy habits like washing their hands regularly, keeping their distance from people in public places, and staying home when they felt under the weather.
None of those habits is necessarily a bad thing. The preventative practices that people followed throughout 2020 and 2021 will help people continue to avoid sickness throughout 2022 and beyond.
Are there any pandemic-related habits that should be modified or forgotten altogether? Maybe.
Here’s a look at the pros and cons of some of the major healthy habits we adopted during the pandemic:
Washing Hands
Remember back at the beginning of the pandemic when stores couldn’t restock hand soap (or hand sanitizer) quickly enough? You really can’t be faulted for wondering whether people were washing their hands as much as they should have been before the pandemic broke out.
Frequent hand washing is one habit society should stick to—after all, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that washing your hands is the most effective measure you can take in stopping the spread of germs. It reduces not only your own risk of getting sick but also the risk for everyone around you.
The only caveat is that you should be careful not to overdo it, particularly with antibacterial hand soap. Too many washes with antibacterial soap can kill the good bacteria on your skin. Even worse, harmful bacteria can build up a resistance to it, so antibacterial chemicals eventually become ineffective.
Disinfecting Surfaces Frequently
Disinfecting became a serious priority during the pandemic. Whether it was a family at home or an employee at a business, it always s eemed like there was somebody with a paper towel and a disinfectant product ready to wipe down any horizontal surface (and many vertical ones too). It wasn’t just things like countertops and tables—people were getting in the habit of wiping down places they probably should have been disinfecting but had previously been neglecting, like door handles and light switches.
The only problem is that disinfecting can lend you a false sense of confidence. Health experts now say the most common cause of transferring the coronavirus is through the exchange of respiratory droplets, not from touching exposed surfaces. It might make you feel safe to know the checkout area at your favorite business is sanitized, but don’t let it make you feel so comfortable you forget to observe other healthy behaviors.
The other problem is that the CDC saw many people using cleaners and disinfectants improperly throughout the pandemic—people were using more disinfectant than was directed, mixing products with chemicals that shouldn’t have been mixed, and applying products in areas with either bad ventilation or without proper personal protection equipment like rubber gloves. Is it any wonder there was an increase in exposure to toxic cleaning products that coincided with the pandemic?
The smartest thing you can do is clean frequently touched surfaces in your home once a day and other areas as needed or (as the CDC states) when they’re visibly dirty. If someone in your home is sick—or vulnerable to being sick—you may need to clean more frequently. Always follow the directions on disinfectant products to avoid risk of exposure to dangerous chemicals.
Social Distancing
“Social distancing” was a phrase few people had heard before the pandemic—but it’s now part of everyday language, thanks to the CDC’s guidelines that encourage people to keep six feet away from others as a means of lessening the risk of transmission from respiratory droplets.
Respecting personal space will continue to prevent the spread of germs even after the pandemic is over, and many people will appreciate not having the person behind them in line at the store close enough to breathe all over them.
But in other ways, keeping distance has been unhealthy—and vaccines have made it possible for family and friends to interact with one another again. This is important because physical closeness (and touch) is an important part of our wellbeing. Physical contact prompts our bodies to produce the hormone oxytocin, which can create feelings of connection with other people, boost our mood, improve our appetite, and help us achieve better sleep.
Staying Home When Sick
Before the pandemic, many people prided themselves on being able to trudge through their regular routine when they were feeling under the weather. But when spreading sickness became a matter of life and death, workplaces and schools started emphasizing that people who were experiencing symptoms needed to stay home.
That’s a good thing—during a pandemic or otherwise. Letting an illness spread throughout a place of employment is bad for business because it hinders everyone from working at their full capacity. That means there’s a financial burden as well. The National Partnership for Women and Families refers to the practice of working when sick as “presenteeism” and explains that the spread of sickness and lost productivity that results from it costs the national economy an estimated $160 billion every year.
But unfortunately, although the Families First Coronavirus Response Act required employers to provide paid sick leave for employees through December 2020, some American workers still don’t have access to paid sick days—only 64 percent of private-sector employees get paid time off for being sick, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The National Partnership for Women and Families estimates paid sick days could save employers up to $1.8 billion annually by keeping sick employees home and keeping healthy employees healthy.
Still feeling a little wary about how you should be behaving these days from a health perspective? You can find the latest guidelines from health experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by going to cdc.gov/coronavirus or the National Institutes of Health at covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov.
