Retail therapies

■ Designers at Nottingham Trent University have created a special wedge so those with arthritis can manoeuvre themselves out of cars independently. The Car Door Mate (£24.99; Amazon) creates a handle that also prevents the door from falling shut, protecting those who use it for leverage from pulling it on to themselves.

■ With over 20 grams of protein in each pot, Itsu’s new Protein Noodles (£2; Sainsbury’s) are a speedy, filling lunch option. The soybean noodles are served in a tasty, miso-based broth and come in a selection of three tasty, spicy flavours – super sesame, mega miso and crackin’ curry.

■ If you’ve a house of fussy eaters who won’t eat wholemeal and don’t like seeded loaves, check out Kingsmill’s 50/50 No Bits Multi-seed (£1.35; Asda). It’s made half and half with white and wholemeal flour, plus you get all the benefits of fibre and protein from sunflower, oats and linseed – without the texture.

■ Adidas has revamped its Ultraboost running shoe, giving more flex at the front for extra comfort and adding six per cent extra “boost” thanks to an exaggerated heel curve, creating a higher bounce back to put a pep in your step. The Ultraboost 21 (£160; adidas.co.uk) upper is also made with 50 per cent ocean plastic.

It’s been almost a year since the UK’S first lockdown, and we’ve been in and out of one ever since.

No wonder it’s taken a toll on our mental health.

Here are a few tips that could help you deal with stress due to the pandemic:

Look back I’m not usually one who keeps looking backwards, but every now and then it’s helpful because that way you can see how far you’ve come. You’ve already survived a year!

Keep your routine If you’re working from home, try to keep your routine as before – wake up at the same time and dress up as if you were going to work. And try not to nap at lunchtime. Keeping a regular schedule will help you maintain some sort of normality.

Find the positives You don’t have to be an eternal optimist, but try to find something good in every day. It doesn’t have to be big things. For example, if you don’t have to commute, you will have time to make pancakes for breakfast. Who wouldn’t want to start their day with pancakes?