Holiday Wellness Tips: Maintain Good Health and Start the New Year Off Right!

Holiday Wellness Tips
Photo: iStock.com/KatarzynaBialasiewicz

Staying healthy during the holidays is usually a lot easier said than done. Everyone feels a little overwhelmed during the holiday season with the pressure to be a social butterfly and purchase the absolute perfect gifts for your friends and family. The holidays are, undoubtedly, the busiest time of year for a lot of people, which can make it hard to stick to your healthy lifestyle and wellness goals.

Since the holidays are considered the season of giving and thinking of others, it can be way too easy for you to lose yourself in the fray. Holiday stress can easily get you down, and ruin what’s supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year. Don’t let it overpower your holiday cheer, though. Fortunately, these stress-free holiday tips are a great place to start on your journey to better mental and physical health. If you’re planning on traveling to see loved ones this holiday season, here are some useful wellness travel tips to help you keep your eyes on the healthy prize!

Prioritize “Me Time”

Taking some much-needed “me time” isn’t selfish; it’s a necessary component to leading a healthy and active lifestyle. Amidst all the hullabaloo, it’s important to set aside some much needed “me time” to help you cope with the chaos of the holiday season. “Me time” can be whatever you want or need it to be during that moment. Do some yoga, take a relaxing walk, schedule a personal spa day by yourself, or simply take some time to catch up on some reading. Bottom line: taking time to de-stress, detoxify, and take care of yourself is one of the best mental wellness tips we can give. Your mental health will thank you for it.

Practice Self-Control When It Comes to Food

Cookies, muffins, cakes and countless other temptations! The holidays are a time when a lot of people pull out their elastic-waisted stretchy pants from the back of their closets so they can eat sweets and delicious foods to their hearts’ content. But leading a healthy lifestyle isn’t a seasonal pastime. It’s only effective if you stick to it all the time, even during the holidays. Eating healthy during the holidays and practicing self-control, especially when you’re constantly surrounded by an assortment of your favorite holiday treats can be difficult. One of the best tips to stay healthy during the holiday season is to not let yourself loose control of the situation by over-indulging in unhealthy foods. However, there is nothing wrong with mindfully having a treat or two, or three.

Be Mindful of Your Alcohol Consumption

With all of the work-related and personal holiday parties you’ll most likely be attending in the coming weeks, it can be easy to lose track of your alcohol consumption. Afterall, spiked eggnog and other festive drinks are holiday get-together staples! Try to be mindful of how much alcohol you’re consuming because most drinks can really pack in the calories. Alcohol also severely impedes your mental faculties, reduce fertility, and impair your memory. Remember to drink lots of water and consume alcohol sparingly. Eating healthy while traveling and watching your alcohol intake over for the holidays is also a great way to stave off massive hangovers.

Get Plenty of Sleep

Like “final exam” anxiety, “holiday” anxiety is a real thing and it can be worsened by a lack of proper sleep. Sleep deprivation is a major course for concern during the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Most adults require an average of 7 to 9 hours of sleep for their brains to function normally. Of course, the amount of sleep required varies from person to person. Getting a good night’s sleep is key to staying healthy over Christmas and it ensures that you have enough energy for all of the social events and activities that are filling up your calendar during this time of the year. Otherwise, that holiday burnout just might hit you like a ton of bricks—and fast.

Enjoy Quality Time with Loved Ones

Making time to visit old friends and relatives is exactly what the holiday season is all about. While it can be exhausting to try to make time for every single person in your life during this time of year, even a simple phone call or Christmas greeting is enough to brighten up another person’s mood just to let them know that you’re thinking of them. You might even notice that the more you do this, the more other people are willing to return the favor!

Stay Active and Find Ways to Occupy Your Time

People typically associate staying active with exercising but leading an active lifestyle can entail so much more than just going to the gym all the time. A great holiday wellness tip is to acknowledge the activities you enjoy and continue to work them into your holiday schedule. Leading an active lifestyle can be characterized by many things including playing with your kids, going for a walk with friends, cleaning your house, or simply engaging in activities and hobbies that you enjoy.

Plan Ahead to Avoid Last Minute Stress

One of the most important holiday wellness tips you can follow is to plan ahead so that you can stay on top of your errands and to-do list. Planning ahead and getting your holiday shopping done early can help you avoid the stress of having to brave the hordes of last-minute shoppers. You can feel satisfied knowing that all your holiday shopping and preparations are done well ahead of schedule and you can just sit back, relax, and enjoy the holiday season.

Stick to Your Budget

Lastly, many people tend to go overboard with their holiday spending due to lack of forethought. When the time comes to start your holiday shopping and preparations, make sure to create a strict budget and stick to it. Participating in gift exchange programs with set spending limits commits you to having to purchase fewer gifts, making it easier to track your spending and ensuring that you come out of the holiday season still in the black.