Despite the early pessimism I had towards the spread of the coronavirus in late January and early February, I was not fully prepared for the quarantine. I had to quickly adapt to the new situation — from moving out of the city to switching my exercise regimen while waiting for the new exercise gear. This post summarizes some of the changes I’ve made to my longevity and life routine in response to COVID-19.

Moving out of the city

The biggest change in my life was moving from SF to a rural area in North Bay. When a resident in my SF apartment complex was confirmed with COVID-19, I knew it was time to leave. The new place is located on private property with several acres of land. Besides the occasional Amazon delivery person or the deer that come to eat my lawn, I have little physical contact with the outside world.

Sleep

In the few weeks leading up to and a week into the quarantine, my sleep quality took a hit. As shown in the latency graph above, falling asleep was difficult. I would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and stay awake for an hour or two, and some days I could not stay asleep for eight straight hours. Anticipating a quarantine took a toll on me more than the actual quarantine!

Even though my sleep routine didn’t change, I was getting poor sleep because my cortisol levels increased. To combat stress-induced poor sleep, I changed my sleep routine.

Supplements

First, I increased my dosage of magnesium for two weeks. I had been taking one tablet of slow releasing magnesium and one tablet of magnesium L-threonate to increase my deep sleep since early February. When I realized I was waking up in the middle of the night, I increased the dosage to two tablets of each supplement for two weeks.

Next, I added one gel of phosphatidylserine to the regimen for one week. I usually take this supplement to help me fall asleep on a plane to adjust to the destination time zone. Phosphatidylserine reduces your body’s cortisol response and helps you fall asleep. I added it only for a week because I didn’t want to become reliant on taking this supplement regularly.

Naps

I personally try to avoid taking naps. However, since we are in a pandemic, I decided to let this one slide. In total, I took three naps during this period. I allowed it when the stats from the night before met any of the following criteria: sleep duration of less than seven hours, REM sleep less than one hour, or deep sleep less than 20 minutes.

Meditation and Yoga

I usually meditate for ten to fifteen minutes before bed. I quickly noticed that this wasn’t working. My mind wandered a lot, and my heart rate didn’t drop. By adding a ten-minute yoga session or wind-down stretch before the meditation, I was able to focus more and be more ready to go to bed afterwards.

Back to normal

Fortunately, these changes and moving out of the city helped me get back to my normal sleep quality quickly. By the end of March, I was sleeping well.

Supplements

I try to avoid supplements when possible. I only add them if changes in diet, exercise, or activity don’t get me closer to the target blood levels. One exception is when I try out a new longevity supplement like NAD boosters. Another exception is surviving a pandemic. Supplements are great ways to be proactive when nutrition may be lacking during a pandemic. Below is a list of supplements that I’ve added specifically for COVID-19.

NAC

N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine or NAC is a supplement I take when I have the cold or the flu. It loosens the mucus in your airways and helps with lung function. Since coronavirus attacks the respiratory system, NAC may be helpful. When I was in the city during the quarantine, I took it daily. Now that I’m out in the country, I only take it when I’m leaving my house.

Vitamin D

Before COVID-19, I was pulsing vitamin D (taking the supplement on a rotational basis, such as every two days or every other day). I usually took it on days when I did HIT or lifting and wouldn’t be getting enough sunlight. When the quarantine started, I started taking it every day. Since I was mostly staying inside an apartment with little to no access to the sun, my only source of vitamin D was through food and supplements. Vitamin D has been shown in preclinical studies to prevent acute respiratory tract infections and protect against lung injury.

I’m now back to pulsing it every other day since I get to go outside and see the sun. Remember to eat foods with fat when taking vitamin D since it is fat soluble.

Vitamin C

Lots of studies have tied vitamin C to aiding in recovery of cold or viral infections and lung functions. These studies are compelling, and taking vitamin C has little downside. But most importantly, I’m not eating the same variety of foods I was eating before COVID-19. I’ve been avoiding the farmer’s market and relying mostly on grocery deliveries, leading to missing some items on my grocery list. I take 500 mg of vitamin C on days I don’t consume foods with high vitamin C or when I have minor flu-like symptoms.

Zinc

Studies show that zinc reduces the duration and severity of illnesses caused by colds, especially if administered at the onset of symptoms. Zinc is also associated with reducing the duration and incidence of pneumonia among nursing home patients. During the cold and flu season, I like to have zinc lozenges handy for when I have a mild fever, sore throat, or any mild symptoms. I’ve been using these lozenges when my temperature is above 99 °F, have a sore throat, or have any cold- and flu-like symptoms. Zinc competes with copper, meaning your small intestines may fail to absorb copper if there is too much zinc is present. Make sure to not take more than the recommended dosage.

Chemicals

Every other year, I purge chemicals from our household. When I buy a new product (skin care, cleaning product, cooking oils, etc.), I also do thorough research on the ingredients beforehand. I will share how I do this in a future post.

This meant that I didn’t have Purell, bleach, Lysol, or similar disinfectants when the pandemic started. I usually use natural cleaning products to get dirt, stains, and residues out and get the place thoroughly disinfected occasionally. Luckily I had alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and other ingredients that I could combine to make an effective disinfectant. However, I got a little lazy and ended up buying branded cleaning supplies.

I decided the pros of having a virus-free house outweighed the cons of using potentially toxic chemicals. I still did a little bit of research and bought effective cleaners that had the least harmful ingredients. Here’s a list of products that are effective against the virus. I currently clean daily using my natural products. I do a deep clean once a week or if I’ve left the house and come back with the newly bought cleaning disinfectant. I also do a thorough wipe of the car and boxes with the new chemicals. I plan to keep a stash of such cleaning supplies in my house from now on.

More changes

Stay tuned for part two of other changes I’ve made to my life, including our routine for leaving the house, changes in exercise, and more!