Thread by @Geek_Manager

Unfortunately I’m accustomed to having weeks at a time stuck at home sick #disabled #EhlersDanlos.

So, one upside is I can share some tips for coping with being shut up indoors for extended periods!

Settle in kids, this might be a long thread 🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵

1) VitD deficiency sucks and will make you likelier to get sick too healthline.com/nutrition/vita…

Being indoors more you’re more susceptible — take Vit D supplements starting right now ☀️ 💊 ☀️ amzn.to/2Wev57T

2) Reduction in outdoors time will also mess you up. Either make a plan to SAFELY spend as much time as usual outside, or get yourself sat down in front of a daylight lamp soon as ☀️💡☀️

I like this one as it’s easy to move with you amzn.to/2w8HYpq [aff link]

3) Staying home disrupts your regular eating approach. Pay extra attention to fruit & veg right now.
Remember tinned fruit, frozen veg are all perfectly valid. Juice can only be one of your 5-a-day, beans & pulses only one. 🍎🍐🍊🍌🍇🍓🍈🍒🥭🍍🥑🥦🥒🥕🥝

nhs.uk/live-well/eat-…

4) You’re gonna end up feeding yourself possibly more than you’re used to. Check food safety advice food.gov.uk/food-safety Rice in particular is trickier than folks realise 🍚‼️

If that’s too dry, this thread is hilarious & educational:

https://twitter.com/dylan_thyme/status/1238551190595678208?s=21

5) If/whilst you’re still well, do food prep. @BootstrapCook’s Brexit prep shopping advice is great cookingonabootstrap.com/2018/11/15/sto…

Most non-carb parts of a meal will freeze fine.

5.1) Pro-tip: When you freeze stuff, do it 1 portion at a time in a ziploc placed in a mug or bowl. Then remove the vessel.

The frozen portions will be perfect size to place back in mug or bowl and blitz in the microwave.

6) Posture matters. Your office desk is (hopefully) set up better than your living room.

Move & stretch regularly. Consider setting a reminder alarm.

There’s some evidence that regularity matters more than total steps nytimes.com/2016/12/28/wel…

7) If you usually have a number of espresso-based coffees per day, you may start to get some pretty nasty headaches. You can go cold turkey and the caffeine withdrawal will pass within a week, or you can supplement with extra home coffee and titrate down.

8) With your routines messed up, your sleep is likely gonna get messed up (see also your activity & caffeine choices as above). Sleep hygiene is worth investing in now especially. My sleep is often messed up so I have a whole host of tools & techniques I use to fix it when broken

8.1) Whenever possible try to go to bed at same time & wake up at same time. If you’re sick, you’ll need more sleep than typical. Go to bed earlier.

8.2) No mobile devices in bed. Ideally nothing electronic (exception: e-ink readers are fine, set brightness low)

8.3) If like me you’re #NeurodiverseSquad and haven’t tried melatonin yet, I found it immensely helpful. Made me sleepy like a regular person for first time in my life!

8.4) Dodow is surprisingly effective, even if sleep meditations don’t work for you amzn.to/2IPeiQT

8.5) I’ve found a weighted blanket really helps me get to sleep, sleep better & deeper, and stay asleep longer. I favour this one but loads of options amzn.to/3cXQ70B

8.6) Track your sleep! I use SleepCycle and w generous use of sleep tags now have loads of insight

9) You may experience some new aches & pains just from being in bed/ on sofa more. Using basic equipment like amzn.to/38YYmGd to stretch/release can help. I also adore microwaveable heat bags amzn.to/2WjqtNY for pain (pro-tip: on face & chest, helps w congestion)

10) If you get sick enough, you may not have the attention span needed for actual television shows.
YouTube & Instagram have loads of decent very short options. Personally I’m a fan of web series and those @tasty food recipe videos when I can only concentrate for 2mins at a time

10.1) Some particular faves:
- @TheKalenAllen youtube.com/playlist?list=…
- Kibak Tile’s videos are mesmerising instagram.com/kibak_tile?igs…
- The @EVNautilus deep sea videos are freaking awesome youtube.com/user/EVNautilus

10.2) “Folks make cool shit with resin & wood”, metalworking and restoration videos are all categories I heart, some good starter follows:
- youtube.com/user/OriginsSh…
- 🍩
- youtube.com/user/s8n8a8k8e
- youtube.com/channel/UCwXWa…
-

- R Humphrey
- Moon Pie Creations youtube.com/channel/UCLI5D…
- Ashley Harwood youtube.com/channel/UCjGsW…
- Feather Damascus steel
- Damascus steel from ballbearings
- youtube.com/channel/UC8q2G…

10.2) I’m mildly obsessed with cleaning videos at the moment.

Not sure why but they’re soothing to watch, eg
- no one has ever cared about car detailing like this strapping Canadian lad does in his bunnyhugs youtube.com/channel/UCAQHQ…
- this chap’s awesome youtube.com/channel/UCji94…

11) In terms of judging how sick I am, I’ve gotten myself an oximeter ... a lot easier to be sure whether I’m just *feeling breathless* or actually struggling to get enough oxygen into my blood. SpO2 below 94 consistently is time to call for help

amzn.to/2QAt9mL

12) This video also has me making sure my zinc supplementation is up to scratch (I favour amzn.to/33ojx3w)

Also, pls pls pls take social distancing seriously, for people like me who’re very at risk if not for yourself! See

https://twitter.com/tina_nguyen/status/1238923142833287174

https://twitter.com/tina_nguyen/status/1238929411166134276

13) If you’re stuck at home bored and not sick (yet) and want some more educational options then I heartily recommend:

🎥 @TheLeadDev channel! We’ve put every talk from every one of our conferences up for free: youtube.com/channel/UCmM3e…
🎥 @xoxofest’s vids youtube.com/user/xoxofest

14) If you’d like something joyous to watch for a bit, this livestream of orcas skidding across pebbles like schoolkids in socks down a well-polished corridor is absolutely lovely and guest stars a super cute sea otter! @orcalabbc @exploreorg HT @Natbat

15) I love #LegoMeditation. It's engaging enough to occupy my attention & brain, but repetitive enough to be soothing (possibly esp bcs I'm part of #NeurodiverseSquad?). One of my team asked for some advice on good big builds so I fell down a rabbithole 😅 blog.geekmanager.co.uk/2020/03/19/leg…

16) With my recent bout of Truly Nasty Triple Threat Ear Infections (it’s been hideous!) I found I lacked the energy / brainpower to even watch TV.

And so like the Elder Millennial I am, this means more YouTube recos for y’all:
- Competitive eating ladies #SorryNotSorry (cont)

- High stakes coin pushers are terrible and/or mesmerising eg youtube.com/playlist?list=… & youtube.com/c/JoshuaBartle…
- Amateur gold panners & recoverers are a Whole Subculture eg (chemical extraction) and (panning practice at home)

- Amateur smelters like youtube.com/user/bigstackD (he has a pupper called Ingot!) and youtube.com/channel/UCbgMw… and are neatening the world up in a fun but economically & ecologically confusing manner

- There’re places where you can look for diamond and other jewels on the surface like &
- Hornet removal guy rehabbing a squirrel, two baby possums and has a whole bunch of chickens all living off wasp larvae

Ofc there’s also my fave new cooking vids subgenre, noodles being made:
- oddly soothing rainbow noodles
- rice vermicelli noodles
- handpulled
- soba
- OLN

Heatwaves make being stuck at home extra tough. Here’s some advice from a South African immigrant who grew up without enough money to afford aircon etc

a) Evaporative cooling is great so dampen your pyjamas before bed & use wet flannels esp on wrists, ankles, forehead #heatwave

b) If you only have a normal fan, build a “swamp cooler” — put a tray of ice in front of the fan. It’s ALMOST like aircon if you squint & hope (or buy one amzn.to/31AiEEw)

c) If you can, upgrade from flannels to these, they’re excellent amzn.to/2DGh9N8

#heatwave

d) Open up windows *strategically* — try to pick ones that are in shade AND will create a draft where you are going to be (if you have aircon, air the whole place regularly but generally keep your windows closed)

e) hydrate! No really. Heat exhaustion is AWFUL.

#heatwave

f) don’t abandon warm drinks entirely, but keep an eye on your caffeine consumption. It’s going to be tough enough to sleep in the heat

g) feeling dizzy/faint, you might need some salts. I use oral rehydration tablets like these amzn.to/31IEci7 (for #POTS too) #heatwave

h) if you can afford it, aircon is amazing. We invested in a portable unit 5 years ago for ~£400 and never regretted it (~12000 BTU) and just had permanent aircon installed too (approx £2k per room). Highly recommend airconco.com/buy-portable-a… for both portable & permanent #heatwave