Stressed from the holidays? Four tips to help reduce it.

Most people are in full swing with the hustle and bustle of holiday planning (including me). It’s easy to get caught up with so many tasks and go into mental and physical overload with too much to do in too little time.  When we put too much pressure on ourselves with endless lists, we may lose sight of the true meaning of the holiday. We can easily set ourselves up for increased fatigued, illness and changes to our mood feeling stressed, depressed and angry, to name a few. Try these tips to help regain control of your life regardless of which holiday you are planning for and celebrating.

1. Streamline your “to do” list.  Do you really need to bake 8 different kinds of Christmas cookies? Cut it down to only 2 kinds. How about greeting cards? Go for e cards to family and friends that have email and save the hard copy cards for those that live far away or older relatives and friends that don’t have email.
2. Don’t cut back on your sleep to squeeze in more tasks. If your normally get 7 – 8 hours of sleep each night, try to maintain it so you don’t get run down, which can reduce your immunity, making you more susceptible to infections (colds and flu). Long term sleep deprivation has been linked to the development of Type II Diabetes, Obesity and High Blood Pressure.
3. Stick to your regular diet. Try to maintain your regular meal times. Spending hours shopping can distract us making it easy to skip meals.  Skipping meals sets us up for overeating when we do eat.  Also, think twice before indulging in high fat foods at parties and gatherings.  There may be 6 different desserts in front of you; pick 1 that really want to enjoy and have a small portion of it. Remember that alcohol is high in calories. It’s very easy to gain 5 pounds or more over the holidays in 1 or 2 weeks, however, it takes a lot longer and hard work to get it off. Try to keep that in the back of your mind to help prevent you from overeating.
4. Maintain your regular exercise routine. Daily exercise helps us control our weight (along with a healthy diet), helps our cardiovascular and immune systems work better, and helps to improve our mood. Stick to your work-out schedule.  “Pay yourself first”; we can only take care of others and accomplish a lot, if we are in good shape ourselves.