Have A Happy & Healthy Christmas

Christmas is a joyous time that most of us look forward to, but it can also be a pretty stressful time and this year could be be particularly challenging for some. Here are a few tips to help you navigate the festive season, & all of it's challenges, whilst staying happy and healthy. 

Exercise

Exercise is not only good for your physical health, it also has a firm place in the happiness stakes. Its well documented that exercise produces endorphins and endorphins trigger positive feelings in the brain - resulting in happy people! Try taking regular short walks, completing home work outs or practicing yoga to keep both the kind and body active whilst your dealing with the challenges this festive season may bring. 

And on that note.....get yourself outside, it's one of the fastest ways to improve both your health and your happiness. A study published in the International Journal of Environmental Health Research  shows just how little time it takes to get the benefits of being outside. Spending just 20 minutes in a park — even if you don’t exercise while you’re there — is enough to improve well-being, according to the research.

Finances

For some, this Christmas might be more financially challenging than others. If 2020 has taught us anything it's that relationships and human contact are invaluable. Don't feel the need to overspend on gifts and put yourself in financial, and mental, strain. Give your loved ones time, whether it's in person or over video chat, for most thats the greatest gift of all. 

Rest

Modern lives are hectic, thanks to smartphones we’re connected 24/7 and there is so much we all want to do with our precious free time. Couple that with the ideology that ‘rest is for the weak’ and the ‘no pain no gain’ motto and any thoughts of resting are thrown out the window.

The first step to more rest is to actually believe that you can rest. Rest is good for you for all of the reasons mentioned above - and more. Christmas is a great time to practice rest. Start by planning one rest event, whether its a 10 minute meditation or a full blown day off, and simply see how you feel. 

Gratitude

Gratitude focuses on both recognising and appreciating what you have and reminding you of what makes you happy. There are bags of studies highlighting the benefits to working gratitude into your everyday life, such as boosting your mood, managing relationships, coping with negative situations and even improving your health. Everyone has experienced times when they feel aware of being thankful for a person or a situation and the good feeling that brings, and whilst feeling grateful just ‘happens’ sometimes, you can also make a special effort to increase how often you feel it. This Christmas spend a few moments thinking about what you are grateful for.