Long Covid: Follow These Every Day Tips To Better Manage It

Long Covid also called post-COVID-19 condition is a collection of new, returning or ongoing symptoms that persist beyond the acute infection. Most major health bodies now use a working timeframe of weeks to months after infection and recognise that Long Covid can affect multiple organ systems: lungs, heart, brain, nervous system, gut and more. Although different studies show different number of cases, many show people developing lingering systems such as fatigue, breathlessness, brain fog, chest pain, palpitations, sleep problems and mood changes. Fortunately, some everyday tips can help you manage these Long Covid symptoms.

Follow these tips to better manage Long Covid

1. Try “pacing”

Many with Long Covid suffer with post-exertional symptom exacerbation (PESE). Pacing means planning activities (rest + short activity bursts), tracking what you do, and stopping before you “hit the wall.” This reduces relapses and helps slow-burn recovery.

2. Keep a simple symptom and activity diary

Note sleep, mood, exertion, meals, symptoms (in severity) and medication. Diaries help you and your clinician spot triggers (example: poor sleep causes worse brain fog) and judge if a treatment or rehab plan is working.

3. Prioritise sleep hygiene

Poor sleep worsens pain, fatigue and cognition. Basic measures such as consistent sleep/wake times, wind-down routine, limiting screens before bed and avoiding late caffeine can make a measurable difference for many patients.

4. Start gentle, guided rehabilitation

Formal pulmonary and physical rehabilitation tailored to tolerance can improve breathlessness and function in many people. But unsupervised, aggressive exercise can backfire, so use graded programmes overseen by a physiotherapist or rehab team when possible.

5. Manage breathlessness with simple techniques

Pursed-lip breathing, diaphragmatic breathing, and energy-conserving positions help during breathlessness episodes. A physiotherapist can teach safe practices and breathing retraining.

6. Treat symptoms, not the label

If you have palpitations, get orthostatic heart rate checked; if you have severe fatigue, rule out anaemia, thyroid problems or sleep disorders. Long Covid is a working diagnosis so meaningful care often comes from diagnosing treatable problems within the larger syndrome.

7. Use cognitive aids for “brain fog”

Written lists, phone reminders, one-task focus, and short memory drills reduce the daily impact of concentration problems. Gradual cognitive pacing (short work blocks, more rest) is more effective than trying to “power through.”

8. Address mental health

Anxiety and depression are common after COVID-19 and can worsen perceived fatigue or pain. Psychological therapies (including CBT when appropriate) and social support reduce distress and improve coping. Recent reviews find benefit from combined physical and mental-health rehabilitation programmes.

9. Stay up to date with vaccines and prevention

Vaccination reduces the risk of severe acute disease and appears to lower the risk of developing Long Covid after breakthrough infection. Preventing infection remains the simplest way to prevent Long Covid.

10. Build your support plan

Ask for a simple care plan from your specialist: red flags to watch for, who to call, and reasonable workplace adjustments (reduced hours, flexible tasks). Many countries now have post-COVID clinics or rehab pathways; where these are unavailable, integrated primary care and community rehab works well.

Long Covid is heterogenous, what helps one person may not help another. The evidence base is improving: international definitions (WHO, NASEM) increasingly agree on core management principles: validation, careful assessment, ruling out treatable causes, symptom-directed therapy and paced rehabilitation. Keep monitoring new evidence and individualise care.

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.

References

A clinical case definition of post COVID-19 condition by a Delphi consensus, World Health Organization, 2021.

A Long COVID Definition: A Chronic, Systemic Disease State with Profound Consequences (long COVID definition chapter), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine / NCBI, 2024.

Long COVID Basics / Long COVID: Signs & Symptoms, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2024–2025 updates.

The prevalence and long-term health effects of Long Covid: systematic review and meta-analysis, The Lancet, 2023.