The holiday season is the most wonderful time of the year, but it can also be challenging for your health. Between the diet-busting food, family tension, and end-of-year stress at work, it’s easy to feel completely depleted by the time January rolls around. However, with a few small changes to your habits, activity, and outlook, you can make this a joyful time of year for both body and mind. Here are 7 simple tips for a healthy, happy holiday season.
Wash your hands! The holiday season is also cold and flu season. You will probably spend a lot of time in close quarters with friends and family — the perfect opportunity to catch a virus. The single most effective way to keep yourself healthy is to wash your hands thoroughly and often!
Take a walk. A brisk walk every day for about 20-30 minutes helps to clear the mind and reduce stress while improving your overall health and working off a few of those holiday calories. American adults tend to gain one pound between Thanksgiving and New Year’s and are unlikely to lose it later. Keeping up your physical activity during the holidays can help maintain a healthy weight. It also gives you a great excuse to get out of the house if family tensions rise!
Don’t sweat the small stuff. The holidays don’t need to be perfect to be fun and memorable. The focus of the holiday season should be the time spent with friends and family, not making your house look like an Instagram fantasy! Remember that as families change and grow, traditions will change too — hold on to the traditions you really love and be open to letting the rest go.
Indulge in only your favorite holiday treats. There’s no need to deprive yourself of all the goodies this holiday season, but choose wisely. Maybe you decide to pass on the store-bought cookies at work so that you can really enjoy that home-made pie later.
Maintain a normal meal schedule. Fasting all day before a big holiday meal or a party means that you will be ravenous and thus more likely to overeat. Instead, plan on eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and serve yourself normal portion sizes during the big meal.
Take a real vacation. Even if you can only take a couple of days off, make sure that you commit to the break. Turn off your computer and enjoy your time with family and friends without checking in with the office. Just a few days of truly relaxing will help you return to work with a renewed sense of energy.
Set yourself up for happiness. Accepting every holiday party invitation can leave you overwhelmed and deplete your holiday spirit reserves! This year, only commit to events for which you have the time and which you know you will enjoy. Then show up expecting to have a good time!