10 Ways To Have A Healthier Christmas

The holiday season is known for eating, drinking, and being merry, as Christmas Day draws closer. Although it might notoriously be a time of indulgence, you shouldn’t allow yourself to overindulge. Once the Christmas carols start playing, many people let themselves go. They eat piles of junk food, drink oceans of alcohol, and avoid exercising completely. Although everyone should enjoy themselves, you can do this without harming your body, causing sickness, and ruining the festivities. With that in mind, here are ten ways to have a healthy Christmas this year.

Be Careful When Cooking

The task of cooking Christmas dinner can certainly be dangerous. While there are many obvious risks, like burns, scalds, and cuts, you must be careful not to poison your loved ones too. The month of December has an incredibly high rate for food poisoning, being one of the worst for the entire year. Thankfully, there are many ways to reduce the risk. Make sure you store food in the fridge, rather than leaving it out, and give your turkey plenty of time to defrost before cooking it.

Limit Any Alcohol Consumption

Alcohol units always add up over the festive period. Drinking Bucks fizz with breakfast, cocktails with lunch, wine with dinner, and brandy with dessert certainly pass your daily recommended allowance. Although you don’t have to avoid alcohol completely, you must watch what you drink. Rather than drinking alcohol all day, you should intersperse those beverages with soft drinks, like pop and juice. Make sure you also keep yourself fully hydrated, or you could suffer a hangover.

Make Travel Plans Early

Many people travel to visit relatives during the Christmas season. Unfortunately, this can be an incredibly stressful task and isn’t at all festive. When taking public transport, it makes sense to plan and book travel early. After all, tickets for the few days before and after Christmas day will sell out quite quickly, which could leave you out of options. When possible, book train, plane, and coach tickets outside of peak hours, as this will mean that the transport will be much less busy.

Exercise With The Family

Every Christmas film known to man might be on TV, but that doesn’t mean you should lounge around all day. Even when the gym is closed, there are many other ways to keep fit. Football games and Christmas day walks are an excellent way to work out with your family. You could even play your new games console. Some of the best VR games for Android are incredibly active, after all. Exercise is very important at Christmas because most people eat more.

Clear Out Any Clutter

Before decorating your home for Christmas, take the time to clear out any clutter. Many people don’t realise this, but clutter is a huge source of stress and can cause further health problems. Because you’ll receive gifts for Christmas, it makes sense to eliminate any clutter before more builds up. Start by choosing one room, whether it be the bedroom or the kitchen, and throw out anything you no longer want. Once that room is finished, you can move on to the next one.

Think Before You Eat

Food poisoning might not be an issue in your house, but you must still take care when eating. A lack of routine means that many people constantly graze throughout the festive season. This can result in weight gain, among many other problems. Rather than mindlessly consuming snacks, you should think about whether you feel hungry or not. When you don’t, you shouldn’t be eating. To keep snacking to a minimum, leave food in the kitchen, rather than displaying it everywhere.

Stick To A Bedtime

The late nights and even later mornings of Christmas can easily disrupt your sleep routine. Even when you don’t have work in the morning, you must still get plenty of sleep. This is essential to combat illness, prevent stress, and much more. Changing your sleeping pattern could result in burnout, which is why you must stick to a bedtime. Caffeine, alcohol, and food can impact sleep and make it harder to nod off, so avoid eating or drinking anything but water before going to bed.

Keep An Active Mind

Switching off while watching television can be enjoyable occasionally, but it shouldn’t be a constant activity. With the entire family together, you have an excellent opportunity to keep your brain engaged. Games like Charades and Trivial Pursuit will bring your loved ones together while giving your brain a much-needed workout. If you don’t enjoy group games, then play with your new gadgets instead. Mobile phones, laptops, and game consoles will keep the mind active too.

Do Something For Others

Consumerism has taken over Christmas in this country and many others. Despite being a holiday for giving, many people only care about the gifts they receive. That is why you should try giving back this Christmas instead. However you help others, doing so will make you feel good about yourself. This is an effective stress-reliever, which is helpful during the most stressful time of year. Whether you volunteer at a shelter or donate your money, you’ll feel definitely a benefit.

Take Time For Yourself

Although spending time with loved ones is enjoyable, there is only so much social interaction one person can take. If you spend too much time with friends and family, you will eventually burnout, which will affect your physical and mental health. Because of this, you must take time for yourself now and then. Go out for a walk alone or play your new games console by yourself for a little while. This will allow you to recharge your batteries so that you can interact happily again.

Christmas should be a time for fun, not stress and sickness. Unless you take care of yourself, you could impact your health overall, which would leave you unable to enjoy the festive season fully. Hopefully, with the advice above, you can make Christmas a healthier time for yourself and your family this year.

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