Blog Series on Self-Care for the Upcoming Holidays 2021 (part 3 of 3)
Our last article for this holiday series, Self-care for the upcoming holidays 2021! Thank you for making it this far in your reading. I appreciate your time. If you have not read the previous two parts, you can check them both out at Part 1 and Part 2.
Without further ado, let us get started on this blog article. Today, we will be discussing tangible steps for life, specifically about sleep and exercise.
Related post: How sleep helps lose weight
Self-Care for the Upcoming Holidays 2021 Tip #5: Getting enough sleep
In general, you should spend one third (⅓) of the day sleeping. It is crucial that you have a quality sleep to relax and allow the body to heal. Your body temporarily shut down for a certain amount of time. For even more information on the science of sleep, I recommend checking out the book “Why We Sleep” by Dr. Matthew Walker during the holidays. The downtime becomes even more important, considering all the activities and food you will be partaking in during the holidays.
As adults, You should all sleep for 7 to 9 hours every day of the week. We need all the available energy for spending time for the holiday activities since you might be doing more housework than usual. You do not prepare 14 dishes every day. You do not want to precisely deep clean the whole house too regularly. All this drains the body. It would help if you recharged it properly, so nothing goes wrong.
Try keeping a consistent schedule throughout this time. Even if you change your sleep schedule, the body can get used to the new routine in a couple of days. Set reminders to go to sleep at the same time every night. That way, you make sure that you are waking up generally at the same time. By having a consistent sleep schedule, you are taking advantage of this tremendous biological function.
Self-Care for the Upcoming Holidays 2021 Tip #6: Exercise!
Last and not least, try to squeeze in exercise during the holidays!
Yes, exercise boosts your mood! Did I say the majority of US adults experience stress and anxiety during the holidays? For better or worse, the holidays bring the most significant disruption to your life during the year. You might be spending more time shopping. You invest even more time with your family (maybe online for this year, but still.) There are certain societal expectations for all of us to follow during this time. And the stress can affect you negatively. Exercise can fix it!
I am not saying you should leave the warm nest for the cold gym. It would help if you were not thinking about ruining the spirits by exercising. There are tons of things you can do that do not involve going to the gym. Make up a temporary routine you can do to still be active during this time. You can stealthily sneak some workouts throughout the day.
Create small challenges that you can do anytime and anywhere—cooking in the kitchen? Get three squats every time you put the ladle down. Are you watching family shows together? Get up and do five jump-jacks at the beginning of the advertisement breaks. Are you hosting online group games at your house? Make the loser do three push-ups instead of taking shots. You see, it is straightforward to be more active during the holidays. You do not need the gym to break a good sweat. Be more intentional about your actions during the majority of your waking hours for the best result!
Don’t let the circumstances prevent you from living healthy? Did you know that you can certainly overcome all these barriers as long as you put your mind to it? I made a mini course called “Evolve from Negativity” as a guide to help you overcome your self-doubts.
