10 TIPS TO REDUCE HOLIDAY STRESS
EVIDENCE BASED
YOU CAN REDUCE HOLIDAY STRESS.
Spending time with friends and loved ones, soaking up holiday beauty, savoring comforting scents, enjoying favorite traditions and making new memories—all are the season’s magic. However, the holidays can also be a time of stress, expectations and indulgence. Minimize negative feelings with simple strategies.
HERE ARE 10 TIPS TO HELP YOU GET THE MOST HOLIDAY HAPPINESS AND JOY.
1. Embrace the season - let go of wishing you had more time to prepare. Holidays are here! Be fully present and go with gusto. Wear funny sweaters, hats and jingle bells, bring on the bling, watch holiday movies, listen to seasonal music, be festive. Savor family traditions. Make new ones.
2. Practice presence - instead of thinking you’d rather be doing something else or be somewhere else, engage as fully as possible with all holiday activities that you’re participating in. Apply all that great mindfulness practice you’ve been doing!
3. Do random acts of kindness - practice kindness whenever an opportunity presents itself. It’s contagious.
4. Be physically active - Keep up your fitness as much as possible and try the tips in my post on how to stay holiday fit
5. Stay hydrated - if it’s hard to drink water when you’re cold, make a big pot of tea in the morning, put it in a thermal carafe and finish it before dinnertime. Add lemon wedges for an extra vitamin C punch.
6. Stick to a sleep routine - good sleep hygiene habits rule! Wind down for an hour before bed time with quiet music, reading or peaceful activity. Keep regular sleep and wake times as much as possible.
7. Avoid overeating and overdrinking - check out my tips on how to avoid holiday weight gain here
8. Practice forgiveness - remember that forgiveness does not mean condoning an activity. It means acknowledging all aspects, finding compassion and letting go, to free up your energy.
9. Laugh...Be Santa! - laughter literally stimulates a bio-chemical cascade of positivity! And, it tones up your abs. Be a model of good humor and cheer. Post funny holiday pictures or jokes. Lighten and brighten up.
10. Remember self-care. While you’re busy taking care of everyone else, be sure to include time for you, even if it’s only warm, pampering baths. Remember to refill your well.
In this video, I discuss these tips in more depth. Use these to to enjoy your holidays more fully and find relief from the hustle, bustle and expectations that come with the holiday season. This is first in a Happy Healthy Holidays playlist I've created that includes: How to stay fit during the holidays and How to avoid holiday weight gain.
Or listen to my podcast below.
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Keep checking back for more helpful ideas and videos throughout the month, and use these tips any time you feel holiday stress catching up to you.
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