Slowing Down for the Holidays
If stress burned calories, I’d be a supermodel. – unspokenpictures.com
The holiday season is upon us, and with it comes family, food and an even faster pace. From the sugar coma on All Hallows’ Eve to the annual rendition of Auld Lang Syne, life becomes a whirlwind blur. We fill our days with family obligations, holiday parties, all day turkey dinners, baking frenzies, shopping sprees, holiday decorating, gift wrapping, gift opening and, sometimes, gift returning. No wonder we’re ready for a change on January 1st!
You may think of this as an exciting time of year. In reality, when we jam pack our schedules with obligations, we stimulate the stress response in our body. We are running around like madmen and women getting to our destinations, but our bodies interpret this as running away from a perceived threat. This increases our cortisol levels which provides a double whammy – high cortisol creates the perception of time speeding up, we feel strapped for time and, in turn, become more stressed. The heightened stress of the holidays will also put the body in fat-storage mode and wreak havoc on the digestive system. Below are only a few of the many reactions our bodies have to excessive stress:
Decreased nutrient absorption
Decreased oxygen supply, thermic efficiency, growth hormone and thyroid hormone – all of which effect metabolism and weight loss
Decreased muscle mass
Increased blood cholesterol and triglycerides
Increased insulin resistance, weight gain and abdominal obesity
Increased inflammation and oxidative stress, both of which lead to premature aging.1
As you can see, chronic stress creates the perfect environment for weight gain, aging and disease. How do we get out of this vicious cycle? Here are 5 quick tips to reduce stress during this chaotic time of year:
Create a Relaxing Mantra. A phrase as simple as “I have time for everything” can have profound effects on stress, cortisol levels and actual time perception! When we believe we have enough time our cortisol levels drop and our perception of time slows down. We end up creating a positive double whammy! The trick, however, is to truly believe in your words.
Slow Down. The faster we move through our day, the more naturally heightened our stress response is. Instead of running from place to place, take your time getting there. Enjoy the music on your car radio or reflect on your day. This is not a time to think about all the things you still have not checked off your list. If you feel like you can’t slow down, you may have too many things on your plate.
Evaluate Your Plate. If you feel slowing down is impossible or don’t believe you have enough time for everything, maybe it’s because you really don’t! If you are at this level, however, your stress response is in overdrive. You are also doing yourself a disservice by spreading yourself so thin. Sit down and truly evaluate all the obligations you have piled onto your plate. Pick those that are most important to you, and drop the rest. What if all things feel important to you?
Rearrange Your Plate. Sometimes when we have so much to do, we lose sight of the simple concept of efficiency. After you evaluate your plate, figure out how best to organize your to-do’s to maximize your time. Need to go to 4 different stores? Plan the quickest loop out and back. Planning a baking frenzy? Prep beforehand; a little time before will actually save a lot of time during. Still feel strapped for time?
Enlist Support. Sometimes we have a long to-do list because we feel like we have to do it all! Remember, just as you are there to support your friends and family, they are here to support you. Enlist your children to help with chores, ask your significant other to do some of the shopping for you, invite friends over to help you bake, or ask family members to bring a dish to the big dinner. All of these things not only lighten your load, they connect you to your loved ones – two positive steps on your road to reducing your stress!
1The Slow Down Diet, Marc David
Photo Courtesy of: http://orghelp4u.com/get-ahead-of-the-game-this-thanksgiving/