The closing of schools and jobs has led to families reuniting in a unique way during social distancing. For many, school, homework, extracurricular activities and jobs take up the limited hours available to share with family. Social distancing brings an opportunity to reconnect with the people that you live with as outside activities get canceled or postponed. 

While social distancing means avoiding going outside or gathering with groups of people, it also means spending time with the people in your own household. As social creatures, the lack of social interaction can take a toll on humans; staying connected with family helps reduce the emotional distance experienced while staying at home. 

During these stressful and uncertain times, sharing moments with parents and siblings can help reduce stress levels. Family bonding activities that often get pushed back because of other daily activities now can take an important role in social distancing. 

The time spent at home provides the opportunity to genuinely get to know your relatives. Engaging in meaningful conversations and spending time together — activities often seen as too time-consuming in our modern, fast-paced lives — help distract from the stress of the news and worries that the pandemic has brought. 

The closing of schools also has resulted in a spike in average screen time use for teens and children, according to Axios, a news website. Spending such extended periods of time in front of screens can severely impact vision, causing eye strain, irritation, fatigue, dryness, blurriness, and other symptoms, according to CBS News. Spending time with family members helps pass time that otherwise might be filled by screens.  

Social distancing provides an unprecedented opportunity to spend time with loved ones doing a variety of activities, like cooking, baking, playing games, binge-watching a show together or just having conversations. Doing so not only helps develop meaningful family relationships, but also helps decrease stress levels in a healthy way.