Ok, so my favorite time of the year is upon us. I love everything about this time of the year, whether it is decorating for Christmas way to early, watching a Hallmark movie every night, or eating delicious food with my crazy family. There is just something so special and magical about the holidays.
HOWEVER, just as special and magical the holidays can be there is also an overwhelming sense of stress and unhealthy habits that comes along with it as well. Whether the stress is coming from the 1000 errands we are running, the amount of food we are making, or the not dealt with family drama that tends to resurface. When we tend to get stressed out, we tend to loose any kind of healthy habits and gain a really unhealthy ways of coping. So I wanted to share some tips of how to STAY HEALTHY in the HOLIDAY CHAOS.
Tip 1: FRESH AIR
So this sounds really simple and like a 'duh' statement, but being intentional about getting fresh air and time outside will make a world of difference during this holiday season. There are so many times where we will go days without just taking a walk or sitting outside to enjoy the cool weather. Did you know that spending time outside is actually a PROVEN METHOD to ease our stress? So when you are dealing with family tension, or dealing with other stressors during this time of year fresh air may be all you need to gather your thoughts and breathe and feel better.
Now I know some are you are thinking, 'I live up north and I will freeze to death if I go outside.' Well if that is the case then just getting in your car and drive with no rush to a destination may do the trick for you. Either way getting outside of the stressful situation will allow you to handle the holidays like a BOSS.
Tip 2: GAMES
If I am being honest this tip can probably be paired with the first one, but I like having three so I am going to make this a separate tip. PLAYING GAMES is something to try this holiday season.
There are two things that playing games can contribute to our health:
1. it will allow us to get out pent up energy and work off the food we just ate (psychical health)
2. it will give us fun and needed times with friends and family (emotional health)
When we just enjoyed a large meal we tend to sit by the T.V or nap the rest of the day, and sometimes the rest of the week. Often times it is harder to get back in a healthy swing of things once we have been laying around the whole holiday season. So it may be helpful to try getting up and getting active with your friends and families and playing games with them. Whether it is a competitive game of touch football or a crazy and hilarious game of catch-phrase, there are definitley healthy benefits of playing games this holiday season.
Tip 3: STAYING PRESENT
This is a tip that some may not see as attributing to healthier holiday season, but one I believe can really help.
So many times during the holidays we are planning for the next event, or looking for the next meal and we forget to be in the moment. When we get a head of ourselves and start already thinking about WHATS NEXT instead of embracing WHAT IS anxiety will creep up on us. Anxiety is often rooted in the what hasn't happened yet and in the whats next. So if we were to learn how to embrace staying in the present this holiday season, maybe we will notice a decrease in our stress and anxiety levels.
Thanksgiving and Christmas are really special times of the year, and I want you to be able to enjoy every moment. So hopefully these three tips will help you in staying in a healthy mindset and emotional state to ensure an AMAZINGLY AWESOME holiday season.