Managing Stress During the Holiday Season

The holiday season brings many wonderful gifts, as well as changes to our routines, budgets, and diets. These changes and the expectations we sometimes put on the holidays can cause stress. Stress can be positive in limited amounts—it motivates us and helps us tackle new challenges. Long term, stress is detrimental to our health. Continued exposure to the elevated cortisol levels associated with stress can harm our immune systems and brain functions. Luckily, the most wonderful time of the year does not have to become the most stressful time of the year. Here are some tips on managing stress during the holiday season.

Take time to plan ahead.

 Make a list of the special events you and your family are attending, and anything that needs to be done to prepare for them. Look at a calendar and decide when you can complete each task. When you have a schedule of what needs to be done when, you avoid decision fatigue. Essentially, the more decisions we have to make consecutively, the harder they are to make and the worse decisions we end up making. Planning is simply making some decisions ahead of time.

 
Plan ahead with gifts, too. 

Make a list of who you want to purchase for, and set a budget. When shopping, honor your budget to avoid stress later down the line. I keep my list and budget on a Google spreadsheet accessible on my phone. That way, I have no excuse for not knowing what my budget is, and I can check off gifts as I go!

Schedule downtime and be intentional with it. 

Everyone—children included—needs downtime to recharge. Be intentional by engaging in an activity that “fills your bucket,” as my mom would say. Reading a book, working on a hobby, or just sitting in a favorite chair watching out the window are all more restorative than endlessly scrolling on our phones.

Exercise! 

In Banks County we are lucky to have parks with lovely walking trails, as well as a whole lot of wide-open space. Take a walk, play a game of soccer with the kids, or have a dance party in the kitchen. Exercise (even in short, 10-minute bursts) has positive effects on mental health, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels.

Keep your diet balanced.

Many of us will have some very lovely, very decadent foods on our tables over the coming weeks. Incorporate fresh fruits and vegetable, whole grains, and lean proteins into your day, too. Eating a healthy snack—like carrots sticks and hummus or a banana with a spoonful of peanut butter—before a holiday party can help curb consumption of not-so-great-for-you foods. Be intentional about what you eat, too. Ask yourself if you’re eating something because you are truly hungry and want it, or just because it’s there.

For more information on nutrition, financial management, and healthy living, contact UGA Extension in Banks County: 706-677-6230 or susie.burton@uga.edu. Information adapted from UGA Extension and the Journal of Health Psychology.