The festivities have begun! Christmas parties are in full swing, the mince pies are coming out and nightly outings with friends are now a regular occurrence. The holiday season can often see the fall of many healthy habits; therefore, it is important to make a conscious effort to keep them in your daily routine.
Keep exercise in your routineWe know the holidays are busy for seeing family and when you have free time it can be tempting to stay in watching Christmas films for hours on end. However, it is important to exercise regularly on 5 days or more each week as it has been proven to reduce the risk of catching a cold by almost 50% and to reduce the severity of symptoms when you catch a cold. Use the festive holidays to start to get in shape to protect yourself from colds in January. If you are struggling to exercise at the weekend, why not try going to the gym on your lunch or before/after work and if you have time off over Christmas why not try to make exercising a fun family activity.
Drink plenty of waterThe holidays are often filled with lots of indulgences and salty foods, therefore it is important to be hydrated to curb sugar cravings and prevent overeating. The festive season is also filled with lots of drinking so on the day of big nights out, try to drink plenty of water as alcohol is a diuretic and can result in dehydration. It could also be a good strategy to drink glasses of water between alcoholic beverages.
Take your own food to workOffices around Christmas time often become filled full of treats and celebrations, and it can become difficult to avoid the temptations at work. Therefore, try to make smart choices with what you eat and bring your lunch to work along with healthy snacks. This will stop you from overeating office treats and spending money on lunches every day.
Get plenty of sleepA busy social life can often mean long nights and a lot less sleep. Sleep deprivation can have a significant effect on your health and can contribute towards weight gain, make it difficult to concentrate, lower immunity making you vulnerable to sickness, and can increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease. If you are able to try to take a nap in the day and catch up on some shut eye that would be beneficial for your health if you aren’t getting enough hours in the night.
