Destressing Christmas, Part 7 - Guarding Your Health

It’s very easy to abuse your health during the holiday season – parties, rich food, a busier schedule, and less time for exercise. Here are a few suggestions for maintaining your health:

- Don't go to a party hungry. Eat something before you go so you're not ravenous. Think ahead of time about the amount of food you will eat. Just a taste of those tasty morsels is usually enough to satisfy your palette. No need for excess eating or drinking!

- Don't give up your workout. Exercise is one of the best ways to relieve stress. As your schedule gets more hectic, make sure to guard your exercise time. Eliminate something less important if you must eliminate something.

- Don’t neglect your sleep – you’ll be irritable and less able than usual to deal with stress. Research shows that your emotions will rollercoaster and your logic powers will suffer without sleep.

- Make sure your family members are getting enough sleep, too. Try to keep normal bedtimes and naptimes.

- Wash your hands frequently for 20 seconds after or while you are attending an event to get rid of those germs passed around by shaking hands, hugging and kissing. Carry some hand sanitizer with you, but it’s not as effective as soap and water.

Wouldn’t it be nice to go through the holiday season without gaining weight, getting sick, being stressed-out, and feeling grouchy? It’s possible, but you’ll need to be very intentional in order to do it! But it’s worth the effort!

What do you do to maintain your health during the holidays?


Related posts: Destressing Christmas, Part 1 - Think Through Your Expectations, Destressing Christmas, Part 2 - Thinking Through the Needs of Your Family and Friends, Destressing Christmas, Part 3 - Smart Gift-Giving, Destressing Christmas, Part 4 - Organizing Your Cleaning and Decorating, Destressing Christmas, Part 5 - Mapping Out Your Calendar, Destressing Christmas, Part 6 - Planning Holiday Meals

Posts from 2007: Destressing Christmas, Part 1 - Think through your expectations, Destressing Christmas, Part 2 - Think through your family/friendship needs and commitments, Destressing Christmas, Part 3 - Think through gifts, Destressing Christmas, Part 4 - Think through cleaning/decorating/entertaining, Destressing Christmas, Part 5 - Think through your health, Destressing Christmas, Part 6 - Think through your calendar, Organizing Your Holiday Meals