The holidays can often be stressful for many people, trying to figure out the best gifts to buy, organizing gatherings with family and friends, and even can be sad or evoke emotions based on previous holidays and loved ones that may no longer be with us.
How Can I Be Stress Free During The Holidays?
The holidays are a time of year where it is very important to focus on techniques that can keep our stress levels down. This will also keep our pain levels down as well. Our brain interprets stress as a need to protect itself, thus will often send out more pain messages in order to get us to pay attention. Stress relief techniques are a great focus point during this time of year.
Here are some important ways to keep our stress low during the holidays.
Meditation
Learning to meditate and have it as a daily routine is often very helpful for stress relief. This can be listening to a guided meditation, a progressive relaxation audio, or just focusing on our breath and letting our minds be calm.
Exercise
Aerobic exercise can be a great stress-relief technique. Even just 20 minutes a day is a great goal, and can increase our endorphins, which are the “feel good” hormones.
Massage therapy
This is an excellent stress-reducing technique. Book an hour massage regularly to work out the physical “kinks” as well as give our mind time to relax. This is very helpful for our nervous system to calm down and slow down.
Get sleep
Quality sleep and enough of it is very important to handle situations and keep our stress hormones in check. Our goal is 7-9 hours of sleep each night, and a good quality of sleep where we are not restless. There are many ways to work on sleep hygiene and tips in order to achieve restful nights.
Focus on the above-techniques for stress-relief, and the holidays will seem more cheery and bright and less stressful. There may be a few areas for improvement, but also be sure to be easy on yourself. You are doing the best you can – compassion is key!
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