One hundred and thirty-eight days ago, on July 7th, 2020, our city went into a tight COVID lockdown. We were only allowed out for one hour daily (plus essential trips) and masks were compulsory.

If exercising, masks were optional. Since we propel massive volumes of moist air from our lungs when running past people, I chose to wear a mask. Today restrictions were lifted.

I trail run 5km daily, so that meant I ran 138 days with a mask.

​It wasn't what I would call enjoyable, but it did have some benefits. Today, running without a mask for the first time since lock-down, I was able to sustain my pace just breathing through my nose - that's a first.

Scientists in the UK are calling for ministers to add vitamin D to common foods such as bread and milk to help the fight against Covid-1.

However, the call is controversial.

Back in 2017, Professor Louis Levy, Public Health England's head of nutrition science, responded to calls for fortification by saying that there was not enough evidence that vitamin D would reduce the risk of respiratory infections.

Recently, researchers in Spain found that 82% of coronavirus patients out of 216 admitted to hospital had low vitamin D levels. The picture is mixed; some research shows that vitamin D levels have little or no effect on Covid-19, flu and other respiratory diseases.

The pandemic, and working from home, has led to us spending long hours in awkward body positions, typically resulting in hunching our shoulders forward. NYC dentist Tammy Chen, says “I’ve seen more tooth fractures in the last six weeks than in the previous six years".

​It’s not just fractures but jaw pain, tooth sensitivity, achiness in the cheeks and migraines — sound familiar?
The simple, universal cure is an appeal to "better posture". However, this is not the cure, as "better posture" is often a prescription for the wrong disease. 
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In this post, I'll explain what the real cause it, and cures that work. This will not necessarily get you sitting up in a textbook posture, but it should cure you from damaging your teeth.

In the midst of widespread working-from-home, COVID-related stress is on the rise. This is partly because of a general decrease in physical activity. For example, I'm currently in Stage 4 lock-down and we are only allowed out once per day for exercise, we need a permit to leave home for work, and cannot travel more than 5km from our home address.

We doing less exercise generally but we are also not getting any exercise associated with commuting, such as walking from the train station to the office.

​This is bad news since there is a well-established association between lower levels of total physical activity and lower levels of positive mental health.

The stress of coping with Covid has caused a surge of calls to mental health support lines and strained many relationships to breaking point. That's not dissimilar to what happens case by case when one of a couple has cancer.

Fear and anxiety burn people out, and how they respond to their burn-out can be misinterpreted by those who would like to help them.

The fact is that not everyone wants help, at least not the kind of help that well-meaning others may want to give. The difference in needs creates tension which adds to the stress and ultimately makes things worse.