Here are my 5 keys to less holiday stress.
The holidays can be a stressful time of year, with all the demands of shopping, cooking, entertaining, and traveling.
For some, holidays might remind you of a loved one you lost, plunging you into a lonely and stressful mood.
Sometimes, it’s the anxiety of the expectations you have on how your holiday should be.
The first “step” to manage holiday stress you can set realistic expectations.
Don’t try to do too much or be everything to everyone.
It’s okay to say no to commitments.
5 Keys to Less Holiday Stress
1. Be Grateful
It’s amazing how much you can turn your holiday around just by remembering to be thankful for everyone and everything around you.
Always keep in mind that not everyone gets the chance to celebrate the holidays.
You might be surprised by how much stressful situations change when you start saying thank you, instead of complaining.
2. Support Your Mental and Physical Health
Eat a balanced diet
The easiest way to bolster your immune system is by choosing a whole foods, plant based diet, avoiding sugar and processed foods.
Exercise regularly
Moderate intensity exercise for 60 minutes or less can help to pump the blood through the body, spreading immune cells for the detection of infection, increasing the body’s temperature to kill bad bacteria, and reduce inflammation
Get enough sleep
When you’re tired, so is your immune system. This puts you at risk for coming down with whatever’s going around.
Adequate sleep is one of the most important factors in ensuring proper healing. Getting a full night’s rest of at least 7 hours helps to maximize infection fighting antibodies in the body, helping you to recover faster.
Have a healthy snack before holiday celebrations.
It might sound counter intuitive but never go to a holiday party hungry (or angry). Have a healthy high protein snack to fill you up before hand.
3. Make a Budget add Stick to It
Overspending can lead to financial stress which can ead to holiday stress.
Most people (including me) hate doing budgets, but the only sure way to shade off holiday stress is by having a functional budget.
One of the leading causes of the holiday stress is financial overstretch.
4. Take Your Vitamins and Supplements
- Pharmaceutical-grade antioxidant and mineral -supplements are a great for supporting your body with vitamins and minerals that help support your immune health. So, make sure you keep taking your multivitamins
- Vitamin C is useful in stimulating the production of white blood cells, which are key to the body’s ability to fight infection. Some great sources of vitamin C include citrus fruits, bell peppers, broccoli, and berries.
- Vitamin D3 can be less prevalent in your body during the cold winter months. However, studies have shouwn that if you are dificient in vitamin D, you may be more susceptible to infection. Taking a supplement with about 2000 IU of vitamin D3 can help.
- Zinc lozenges have been found to reduce the duration of a cold due to its ability to activate T-lymphocytes, which attack infected cells.
- Elderberry is a great source of antioxidants and can help limit activity of pathogens. Elderberry has been found to be particularly useful in activating the immune response against viruses.
5.Create A Plan
Set aside specific days for shopping, baking, connecting with friends and other holiday activities. This can provide things to look forward to, rather than having events feel like obligations.
To read more, “Mental Wellbeing and Resilience – A Self Care Guide”
CLICK HERE to download my FREE ebook “Top 12 lifestyle tips to support a healthy immune system(some might surprise you)
The Effects of Holiday Stress
The physical symptoms of holiday stress are all real:
- Headaches
- Inability to sleep
- Exhaustion
- An upset stomach
The pain can be tremendously debilitating, and you might not even realize that it is stress that is responsible for all the physical symptom
Be realistic.
It’s not realistic to feel “holiday joy” all the time.
In fact, as families grow and change it’s natural to think of and long for how things were.
Embrace the change by holding onto favorite traditions while being open to creating new ones.
For example, our adult children whoa r emarried rotate holidays with their inlaws and we find new ways to celebrate together.
We Facetime and have a group text exchange and we schedule a group video call/celebration.
Be flexible!
