Between preparing, gathering, and traveling for the holidays, the stress can begin to affect your behavioral health. Here are some tips for prioritizing your physical and mental health during this holiday season.
Schedule in Exercise
During the chaos of the holidays, exercise can be a great way to prioritize your physical health and mental health. The CDC recommends that the average person should exercise 150 minutes per week, but even going for a morning jog, participating in a quick yoga session, or playing soccer with the family in the backyard, can help increase your mindfulness and behavioral health during this stressful time of year.
Prioritize Your Diet
Keeping to your typical diet during the holidays can be tricky. Research has shown that eating a healthy diet and incorporating foods such as fish, nuts, avocados, and blueberries may improve your mental health. So, if you find that your main holiday meals are lacking these ingredients, try adding them into your snacks to get the nutrients your body needs.
You can also try adding in supplements such as folate, vitamin K, and Omega-3 fatty acids, which have also been shown to improve behavioral health. Before beginning any supplements, make sure to discuss them with a health care provider.
Get Adequate Sleep
Experts recommend getting between 8-10 hours of sleep each night. To help promote your sleep routine, try going to sleep and waking up at the same time each day. Sleep is important for your mental, physical, and emotional health. Proper sleep helps to maintain a strong immune system, high energy levels, strong behavioral health, better concentration and memory, and a strong and healthy body.
Add in Mindfulness Activities
Are you looking for a mindfulness activity that the whole family can do together during the holiday season? Look no further than puzzles. Games like jigsaw puzzles, scrabble, sudoku, crosswords, and memory games can be beneficial to your behavioral health. These puzzles can give you a break from the stresses of the holidays, exercise your brain functions, and can make a lasting effect on your behavioral health.
Find a few minutes for yourself
Mindfulness activities such as yoga and meditation can help promote concentration, as well as help release any tension or anxieties from the day. Apps such as Headspace or Calm can be helpful tools to direct these meditation practices.