12 Ways to Stress Less For The Holidays

1. Prepare food ahead of time

It’s a busy time of year and plenty of goodies are around, making it easy for us to grab something that may not be the healthiest choice. I find I do best when I plan my meals ahead for the week – or at least for the day. Even if you are planning on ordering food for delivery/take-out plan ahead so that you can choose something that will be yummy and nourishing and not just fast and easy. If you’re having a hard time resisting temptation or just want to start the new year off with a clean start, join our Free 5-day Sugar/Carb Reset launching Jan 1.

2. Move your body every day

I love taking a walk this time of year and seeing the holiday lights and decorations. Even if you don’t make it outside, make sure to move your body – stretch, dance or even shake. Your body was designed to move and we let stress out when we move. So just do it.

Since signing up for some daily news digests, I feel informed without the stress of being repeatedly bombarded by shocking headlines.

4. Play some uplifting music

Music is healing on so many levels. Play your favorite tunes to shift your mood. Added bonus if you dance, sing or hum along as those activities can help you discharge stress and activate the resting part of your nervous system

5. Meditate

There’s an old saying that goes something like this “If you don’t have time to meditate once a day, you should meditate twice a day.” The meaning behind it is that if you are so busy that you don’t have time to sit and recharge, then you need it even more. If you are saying “Yes, that is so me” then I highly recommend Heartmath’s Inner Balance app or emWave2 device that can help you access the meditative state with just 3-10 minutes twice a day of practice. I’ve been using these tools for 15+ years and recently did a demo on Facebook.

6. Align your sleep with the rhythms of nature

Early to be and early to rise really is scientifically proven health hack. Try to be in bed by 10 pm and arise with the sun around 6 am. Need help restoring your sleep rhythm? Download my free sleep guide here.

Make your non-alcoholic drinks festive and healthy by choosing sparkling water with cranberry juice or add cranberry juice to apple cider. Here are some other fun ideas.

8. Find alternative ways to connect

Zoom and Facetime are great ways to be able to see our loved ones. For those who may be zoomed-out, dial those digits for an old-fashioned phone call. Or write a hand-written letter like in the good old days.

9. Lower your expectations

Its been a weird year, give yourself a break. I’ll admit, I only put about half of our decorations up this year. The house still looks festive, but it was much less effort to put up and will be much less effort to take down. I told the kids that this is going to be a year of less instead of too much.  I just may continue with this minimalist attitude beyond the holidays.

10. Schedule breaks and downtime

Especially if you are working from home and have back-to-back zoom meetings with no time in between, it can be easy to get overwhelmed. Make sure to give yourself breaks and have that downtime to do something for yourself. Take a walk, spend half an hour reading, just rest and relax. You’ll be recharged and ready to go.

11. Practice gratitude

There is such immense power in practicing gratitude daily. Take a few minutes and just write down three things that you are grateful for today.

12. Laugh

Laughter really is great medicine. Find a funny show or video, look at old photos, brush up on your jokes. I’ve asked for this game Puns of Anarchy for Christmas – it looks like it could be fun for the whole family.