The holidays are upon us again! It’s time for decorating, gift giving, menu planning, and hitting multiple celebrations. There’s no bigger fly in the ointment of holiday fun than a nasty cold slowing you down. So, how do you stay healthy and energized enough to keep up with the season? Here are a few helpful tips:
Choose nourishing foods, even when you’re busy. The holiday season refrain echoes through our halls these last two months of the year – “I’m too busy to eat well!” The bad news here is, if you’re eating unhealthy food your body isn’t going to let you stay busy for long; you’ll be down with some nasty bug in no time. It’s possible to eat well while busy, we promise. First, planning ahead is key. Having easy-to-grab food on hand will keep you sated while you’re out and about. Think fresh fruit, nuts, seeds, olives, jerky, cubed cheeses, some baby carrots, celery sticks, or broccoli florets with a little container of sugar-free dressing. If you’ve got the time before you leave the house, make a smoothie to take along. You can do this!
Stay well hydrated. Sometimes it’s harder to keep your water intake up when it’s colder outside, but you still need at least half your body weight in ounces of water daily! Bring a full water bottle with you everywhere you go, and refill it in places where you trust the water source – you’re always welcome to stop by our office and load up on the Nikken PiMag water.
Get a move on. The shorter days may have us less inclined to head outside for a workout, but consider the following before you opt to hibernate: some kind of exercise each day will help you keep your energy level high, move that lymph through your system (very important when it comes to avoiding getting sick), and keeping off those winter pounds. Even if you’re just doing a little yoga along with a workout available on TV, or a few body-weight exercises like push-ups, crunches, and jumping jacks, remember to move that body some every day.
Take a breather. These hectic days of celebrating can turn from fun to stressful when you’re feeling overwhelmed. Taking a few minutes each day to sit quietly and breathe deeply is essential! We all need some quiet, some time to get in touch with how we’re feeling and a chance to pause the insanity. If you can’t find 10 -15 minutes to sit uninterrupted in quiet, try something even quicker- make it a rule to take one long, deep breath before you check your phone for any reason, or take advantage of time spent at a red light to take note of how you feel sitting in your car. Those simple actions are grounding; they create space around you when your schedule feels like it’s suffocating.
Get some good sleep. For those of you who aren’t inclined to hibernate, but instead will burn the midnight oil to get everything done – cut it out! You need plenty of sleep to function at your best. You may be “getting things done” at 1AM when you’re still working, but without sufficient sleep, the quality of your work will suffer and so will your health. In order to sleep well, turn off those screens at least 30 minutes before you want to go to bed, and engage in something relaxing to you. A little light stretching, reading something you enjoy, recounting all the great things that happened during your day, sipping a warm cup of tea…you get the idea. Ease into the sleeping hours, and then rest up for the next big, fun-filled day.
The holidays are supposed to be fun, so here’s to you enjoying them in great health!
