Holiday Stress
The crisp scent of fall is in the air, and the holiday season is looming upon us all. Shopping, cooking, traveling, and merry making can add a lot of extra stress to our already overbooked lives. According to Webster, stress is a mentally or emotionally disruptive or upsetting condition occurring in response to adverse external influences and capable of affecting physical health, usually characterized by increased heart rate, a rise in blood pressure, muscular tension, irritability, and depression. So, what do you do if your mood turns blue amid all the red, green and gold?
We’ve all heard a hundred times that exercise, a balanced meal, and plenty of rest are the ingredients for a stress free lifestyle – but how do we incorporate these ingredients into the overflowing plate we’ve already got?
Exercise every day I don’t have enough time to exercise normally, so how am I going to find time to do it now? Well, “the experts” (whomever they may be) say you only need 30 mins of mildly vigorous activity per day – and it doesn’t even have to be consecutive. So let’s find some simple ideas we can incorporate easily into our daily lives.
• Instead of fighting for that perfect parking space, park as far away as you can and walk. This will save you the time of circling the parking lot 5 times waiting for someone to leave, save you the cost of gas while circling, and could add a couple of minutes of walking to your daily exercise regime.
• Get up and take a 10 minute walk for your lunch break. If your like me, you’re hard pressed to find a lunch break, but the 10 minute walk will give your brain a much needed rest, will get your blood pumping, and just getting a short vacation from the office can relieve a ton of stress. Just make sure to leave the cell phone inside, this is a little time for you.
• Enjoy the scenery. There are so many beautiful trees with fall leaves, and Christmas decorations will be up around the block soon, so grab the hand of your favorite honey or put a leash on that dog and take a walk around the block. Make it a part of your nightly routine, it’s a great way to distress from a long day at the grind, spend time with someone you love, and you will find yourself full of needed energy to tackle all the other things you need to do.
Just taking a few extra minutes every day to take care of our bodies can make life so much easier. I know how important that Seinfeld re-run is, but is it more important then feeling great and enjoying this wonderful time of year?
Quotable Thoughts: a look at the words of wisdom from other’s, with a twist of personal commentary, appears right here at iconoclastic
We were here; we are human beings; this is how we lived. Let it be known, the earth passed before us. Our details are important. Otherwise, if they are not, we can drop a bomb and it doesn’t matter.
Have a great blog idea, or just want to chat with me about something I’ve said? Feel free to e-mail me: meagandixon@yahoo.com
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