Blue Christmas II: Holiday Health
Holiday Health: How to Make it Thru the Next 27 Days Without Losing Your Cool
By Stephanie Edwards
For a lot of us, the Holidays are synonymous with big movie sequels. There’s Home Alone 2, The Santa Clause 3 and FIVE different Die Hard Sequels. So this year North Sunflower Medical Center is bringing you Blue Christmas II: How To Survive The Holidays.
The time between Thanksgiving and New Years is a time of joyous celebration and time spent with family. But as we said 2016, the holidays can also be a time of great stress and anxiety. Here are a few tips on how to keep up your holiday health thru the next 27 days without losing your cool.
“Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.”
It’s expected that we are all going to pick up a couple of unwanted extra pounds over the holidays. There’s a seemingly endless supply of fattening treats around the office and at home. A slip in the diet is to be expected. But try to limit your indulgences to a few bites of your favorite treats. That way you can enjoy all your savory holiday snacks and still keep your diet under control. By keeping yourself active – and moderating your indulgences – you can easily shed that couple of extra pounds you gained over the holidays in January.
Don’t Give Yourself a Guilt-Trip for the Holidays
Have a realistic idea of what you want your holidays to be. The memories you take away for the Holidays should be the time you spend with your loved ones – not spending time and money finding the perfect gift for children and grandchildren in your life. And if you are dreaming of a White Christmas here in Ruleville (unless there is a freak snowstorm) you probably need to adjust your expectations.
Don’t Over Schedule
Time spent in the car driving from shopping – to another holiday party – to a distant relative’s house is a time that cannot be spent connecting with your family and friends. Pick and choose the holiday events you want to take part in, and don’t schedule a time for yourself.
Get Plenty of Sleep
Getting less sleep over the holidays can lead to increased stress, weight gain, and depression over the Holidays. This can be a difficult time to get the sleep necessary to stay healthy. If you have guests in from out of town, you might stay up later than usual entertaining or get up early to get a jump on your Holiday tasks. That makes it hard to get the seven hours of sleep needed to maintain proper circulation, fight off disease or just to rejuvenate the body and mind.
The Holidays – when drinking alcohol and overeating is more common – can be a time when sleep apnea can become a real issue for many of us. We recommend trying to keep a regular sleep schedule, turning off electronics, reading before bed or writing down anything on your mind that may keep you from relaxing before bed. If you do think you are suffering from Sleep Apnea, call the NSMC Sleep Center. For a lot of patients, December is a good time to get checked. Especially those who have already paid their insurance deductible throughout the year. You can reach any of the outstanding professionals at the Sleep Center of NSMC by calling (662) 756-1742.
We hope you find these holiday health tips useful. Have a Merry Christmas and a very Happy Holiday season from everyone at North Sunflower Medical Center.
