What day is it again? Day 5,372,614 of sheltering in place, you may say. Since around late March or early April, chances are, you and/or your loved one have been stuck at home, unless you ventured out to scavenge for what was left of essential items at a local grocery store. The shelter in place orders across the world were enacted to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. And although Georgia has begun to reopen for some industries, Governor Brian Kemp has extended the shelter in place designation for certain classes – including those 65 years and older – for a little longer.

During this sabbatical of sorts, you may have caught up on your favorite TV shows and cleaned every inch of your home, but lost track of the day of the week or month. If you have noticed this memory slip in yourself or your loved one with Alzheimer’s or dementia, there may be a simple explanation: you’re off of your routine. Keeping a routine — whether a new one or the one before COVID-19 — is important to maintaining the mental and physical health of you and your loved one with memory issues, especially while sheltering in place.

Here are 10 healthy habits we recommend to keep your or your loved one grounded while sheltering in place:

  1. Get dressed each day to help provide a sense of normalcy.
  2. Bathe regularly as a reminder that life is still going on each day.
  3. Schedule daily calls or messages to help keep track of the days and provide structure.
  4. Create to do lists or calendars to help guide and prioritize your day-to-day activities.
  5. Schedule and stick to similar meal times daily to stick with the routine nutritional habits of your loved one.
  6. Get routine exposure to sunlight or nature to provide therapeutic stress relief from the lifestyle change.
  7. Utilize voice and virtual assistants such as Alexa or Siri as a refresher of the tasks needing to be completed. (i.e. taking medication, doctor’s visits, etc.)
  8. Practice good sleep habits to heighten brain function, boost the immune system and enhance moods.
  9. Exercise regularly to enhance mood and control stress and anxiety
  10. Connect with other people over the phone or video, to reduce loneliness and stress.

We hope to resume a sense of normalcy soon – even if that becomes a new normal. Until then, we recommend doing the best you can to create and/or maintain a healthy routine that will help keep you and your family happy.