The holiday season is a busy time of the year, and with that often comes stress. While we would prefer to enjoy the celebrations, family time, and joy that accompanies the season, we can sometimes find ourselves spending time stressing over expectations, finances, and busy schedules instead. Here are three ways to help manage the stress that accompanies the holidays so you can get back to enjoying this magical time of year!

1. Take Time To Exercise Regularly

It’s important to get moving and stay moving. In some parts of the country, especially the Midwest, the holiday season is usually accompanied by colder weather and spending more time indoors. This can make exercise a challenge. Prioritizing exercise is vital in helping decrease stress during this time of the year. Some ideas to try during the holiday season can include:

Walking on a treadmill at home or in the gym
Indoor high intensity interval training (HIIT workouts)
Biking or cycling
Resistance training

The ACSM recommends cardiorespiratory training 3-5 times per week and resistance training 2-3 days per week. The CDC recommends 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise weekly.

2. Self-Relaxation Techniques

Our calendars get filled up pretty fast during the holiday season, but it’s important to still make time for yourself to prioritize your own health. Ideas for self-relaxation techniques can include meditation or yoga. You can also pencil in time to focus on your favorite hobbies or activities to help you relax. Lastly, there are breathing techniques you can try to help reduce your heart rate, decrease stress, and get more oxygen to your muscles to help you relax. Try this:

Lie on your back or sit in a chair and put one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach.
Take a deep breath through your nose, trying to blow up your belly, rather than your chest. When you look at your hands you should see the one on your belly raise up and the one on your chest stay still. This is called diaphragmatic breathing.

3. Sleep And Rest

A common theme during the holidays is a lack of time in the day. When we get stressed, we have a tendency to cut back on our sleep to try to make more time in our day; but sleep is a vital factor in our body running efficiently. Seven hours of sleep is recommended each night at a minimum. Here are some tips to improve your sleep quality:

Consistency – prioritize a good night’s sleep each and every night
Exercise
Set the Mood – create a space that is quiet and calm
Decrease screen time when lying in bed
Decrease caffeine intake late in the day

We hope these tips help you enjoy the holidays to the fullest this year! If you have any questions, or would like to connect with a movement expert if you’re experiencing aches, pains, or injuries that are holding you back, schedule a free assessment with an Athletico team near you. Free assessments are available in-clinic and virtually through our telehealth platform.

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*Per federal guidelines, beneficiaries of plans such as Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, VHA and other federally funded plans are not eligible for free assessments.

The Athletico blog is an educational resource written by Athletico employees. Athletico bloggers are licensed professionals who abide by the code of ethics outlined by their respective professional associations. The content published in blog posts represents the opinion of the individual author based on their expertise and experience. The content provided in this blog is for informational purposes only, does not constitute medical advice and should not be relied on for making personal health decisions.