The Wellness Connection: A Wellness Holiday

It seems that this particular time of year has become synonymous with “stress”. From November through early January, our lives become a hodge-podge of special meal preparations, shopping and traveling. It can be a little overwhelming and very taxing on our health; yet it doesn’t have to be. With just a few simple decisions, you can have a wellness holiday.

Holidays at Home
Probably one of the most stressful events during this time of year is the “family gathering” especially if you’ve been elected to have it at your house. This can mean days of cleaning and hours of cooking.
Some ideas to help avoid this added stress include the following:

• Don’t try to be Martha Stewart – Ask everyone to bring a dish and offer to be the one who prepares the turkey
• Ignore the heavy-duty cleaning – If your house is clean overall, then who cares if the baseboards are a little dusty?
• Rent a hall for larger family gatherings – many American Legion or community and church halls are available for rent even if you aren’t a member and include full use of the kitchen facilities.

This is supposed to be the most joyous time of year, not the most stressful. Be willing to admit that you want to enjoy your family, not resent the work involved in getting together, and seek a compromise that makes everyone happy.

Holidays Away
For many, the holiday will include a long distance trip by automobile. If this traveling includes children between the ages of two and ten you’re going to have your hands full. You want to arrive with all the children alive and your sanity intact, so here are a few helpful hints to avoid the stress of traveling with little ones.
“Are we there yet?” The four words in the dictionary that, when strung together, will irritate a parent in a matter of hours. Yet, if you’re traveling with children, can this question be avoided? Yes, it can.

For the younger child, draw a map on a piece of construction paper that gives the child things to look for on your trip. Is there a particular gas station that you always use on this trip? Draw it on the map. Is there a rest stop where you stretch your legs? Draw it on the map. Any landmarks that the child will recognize should be put on the map. As you pass each landmark remind the child that it is on their map and that they should mark it off along the way.

With the older child who can tell time you’ll want to provide them with a digital clock and a clipboard. Go online to Mapquest or Google Maps and print a map with directions from your home to your final destination. Help the child to figure out how long the trip will take (this is usually provided on the map) and put the map and a blank piece of paper on the clipboard.

The child will want to keep track of each stop for gas or food and how long that stop takes, and then add it to the final destination time. This will keep them occupied and ensure that they won’t need to ask, “How much further?”

Holiday Parties
Whether at home or away the obligatory holiday parties are going to include the usual fares; many of these foods and, for some, alcoholic beverages, will contribute to stress and fatigue during what is already a busy time of year.

If you want to avoid some common holiday pitfalls, consider the following:

• Protein before the party – Make sure to have a small amount of protein before you leave for the party (or the guests arrive). This will give you energy and help you to avoid the temptation of over-indulging in unhealthy foods.
• Water, Alcoholic Beverage, Water – Alternate every alcoholic drink with a glass of water before and after; this will help to eliminate a majority of the empty calories found in most alcoholic beverages.
• Send home the leftovers – Make sure that each of your guests leaves with a small plate of food or throw away the leftovers. This will help you and your family avoid eating the same unhealthy foods.
• Relax and Rejuvenate – Pick one day a week to have Holiday Movie Night and spend time with your family watching “Miracle of 34th Street”, “It’s a Wonderful Life”, “The Santa Clause”, etc.
• Don’t forget routine exercise – It’s really easy to say, “I’ll get back to it after the first of the year,” but the year goes fast. Whatever you’re doing now you should keep doing through the holidays and, if you don’t have a routine, now’s a great time to start. Just walking ten minutes a day can increase your health and wellness while giving you ten minutes to plan your schedule or menu for the day.

The Chiropractic Factor
Your Family Wellness Chiropractor is dedicated to helping you maintain a healthy spine and nervous system. If you’re not careful this time of year can be exhausting, and stress works against your body. Take time today to speak with your Doctor of Chiropractic about ways that you can stay healthy and stress free this holiday season and make sure to keep up with your routine adjustments.

Top Five Tips for a Stress Free Holiday
The most important part of having a stress free holiday is to be healthy. So here are Dr. Davis’ top five tips for a healthy holiday.
#5 Get plenty of rest – A restful, rejuvenating sleep can mean a stronger healthier immune system
#4 Delegate – Learn to share the load. Your tasks may not be done as well as if you had been in charge, but at least they will be done and with fewer things on your list
#3 Plan Ahead – Expect the unexpected. Always have two or three extra gifts (good for both men and women) wrapped and ready to go for that unexpected visitor
#2 Say NO – You can’t be everything to everybody. It seems so wrong to say such a thing during this time of year, but you are only one person with one family and you can only be in one place at one time. There comes a time when you need to be able to just say NO.
#1 Get adjusted – Make your regular Chiropractic checkups a priority and stay healthy for the holidays.