Don’t you just love the holidays? As the song goes, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. However, it’s not an excuse to let go of your health and throw away everything you worked so hard for the entire year.
Keep yourself and your family healthy this Christmas season with the following practical tips. Other than the usual watch-what-you-eat tips, other factors can also greatly affect your health over the holidays.
9 Practical Tips to Stay Healthy This Christmas
1. Wipe those germs away.
Take some time to disinfect the things you are going to use. Germs are one of the main sources of why people get sick. Beat those germs and wipe them all away.
2. Hydrate!
Never underestimate the power of water and what it can do for your health. With all the eating and drinking you will be doing at this time of the year, water can help cleanse your system.
3. Take care of your dental needs.
The holidays usually involve a lot of eating and drinking. Before diving into all the feasting from parties left and right, be sure to go to the nearest dental clinic in Townsville or wherever you are to have your teeth or dentures checked. It would be such a shame if you miss out on all those delicious meals just because of a toothache.
4. If you’re going on a long flight, walk around the aisles.
Avoid deep-vein thrombosis (DVT), blood clots that form from long periods of sitting down, whenever you go on long flights. Every hour or hour-and-a-half, get up and stretch those legs. Take a walk up and down the aisles to prevent DVT.
5. Keep your hands sanitized.
Always bring a hand sanitizer wherever you go. Germs spread faster from hand-to-mouth contact compared to airborne droplets. The biggest threat to your health is the germs on your hand that you get from touching different objects throughout the day.
6. Get a massage.
Getting a massage, or even a quick rubdown if you only have ten minutes to spare, is an effective way of bringing down your stress and anxiety levels. It lowers the levels of cortisol in your body and produces more white blood cells that fight germs.
7. Stay disciplined.
It is important to not fall into the trap of “I deserve to treat and pamper myself this holiday season.” If you have been working hard all year to getting into shape and staying healthy, the holidays are not an excuse to let it all go.
Maintain a balanced diet, try to avoid sweets, do not overeat, watch what you eat, and exercise regularly. You need to keep an exercise schedule, especially if you’ve accumulated a more “generous” amount of calories since the season started.
8. Go for healthier snack alternatives.
Instead of the delicious yet unhealthy snacks you’re used to, do yourself a favor and choose alternatives that will still keep you full and are better for your health.
9. Get plenty of rest.
Lack of sleep and rest tears down your body’s natural defenses against sickness. Medical experts found that people who get a complete eight-hour sleep are three times more immune to sickness compared to those who get less than seven hours of rest.
The holidays may be fun but it won’t be as fun if you end up getting sick in the middle of all the merrymaking. Stay healthy and merry this Christmas and New Year, Happy holidays!
