Four Ways to Recapture the Lost Art of Enjoying the Holiday Season
As we put our feet up after a grueling trip to the mall or make yet another complicated recipe for a holiday event, it’s time to take a deep breath and find ways to nurture ourselves rather than giving in to holiday stress.
The consequences of chronic exhaustion, irritation, and endless activity—in other words stress!—are alarming. Researchers have found that stress can accelerate cellular aging, contribute to hearing and vision loss, and increase the risk of cancer, stroke, heart attacks, and even Alzheimer’s disease.
While we can’t make the stressors of modern life go away, we can cultivate a less stressful lifestyle. Start with the following 4 tips to de-stress the holiday season.
1. Make choices about what traditions really matter to your family and take a break from the rest. Will the holiday spirit truly disappear with a bought pie or scaled down decorations that leave time for a couple of relaxing hours in front of the fire? Probably not—choose only the activities and traditions that you and your loved ones remember fondly from year to year—and stop there.
2. Breathe deeply when you start to tense up. While shallow breathing—a marker of stress—brings your body into alert mode, just a few deep breaths provides an extra boost of oxygen that helps you to relax and calm down.
3. Focus on the fun parts of the day. How many times have you told your latest mall horror story? You’ll find that with each telling, you will feel even more angry, stressed, or just worn out. Instead, tell your tale of woe once, if you must, then focus on whatever went right during the day. You’ll feel more energized and optimistic.
4. A trip to the medspa can be a great way to relax body and mind, to refresh and revitalize dull winter skin, and to emerge with a face that reflects the holiday glow rather than the stress of the season.
A facial, microdermabrasion, or a series of peels can restore the radiance in your skin, while removing blemishes, acne, and stress lines around the eyes and mouth. To maintain the glow throughout the holiday season and beyond, consider an investment in the Esana Essential Signature Line, to brighten, moisturize, and exfoliate your skin.
By taking a positive approach to the holiday season, you’ll remember why you enjoyed the holidays as a child, rather than wishing you could fast forward to January 2.
