‘Tis the season to hustle and bustle and get all your holiday shopping done! But all this running around can add extra stress to your day. Consider these ways to curb the stress and really enjoy the holidays!
Chiropractic: Give the gift of health! People pay for things they want, not for the things they need. Remember that next time you breeze through the market deciding between a pumpkin spice latte or a bottle of water. Everyone knows they need to take care of themselves, but refuse to take action. Imagine this scenario: it’s the week before Christmas and you’ve been standing in the kitchen for hours on end prepping cakes, cookies, meals, and washing dishes on hardwood or tile floors. This wreaks havoc on the feet, knees, pelvis, and spine. Take action for them by giving a gift certificate to their local chiropractor, and while you’re at it make an appointment for yourself. By keeping the nervous system functioning optimally and the joints in proper alignment, you and your loved ones will be back to health in no time.
Finances: As chiropractors this is not our specialty, but extremely important. Find out what you spend the most money on. Apps such as Mint or Personal Capital can connect to your bank and credit card accounts, logging and sorting all of your expenses. For the first 30 days don’t change anything about your spending habits. At the end of the month, divide those expenses into two categories: necessities such as rent/mortgage, food, water, utilities, and medical, and luxury (pretty much everything else). You’d be surprised how much you spend on coffee, soda, alcohol, cigarettes/vape supplies, etc. You can set a budget of how much discretionary spending you allow yourself, and the app will warn you when you’re hitting your limit.
Sugar: As mentioned earlier stress is the trigger of fight or flight, dumping enormous amounts of adrenaline into the bloodstream. The body needs to replenish this adrenaline and as such it needs Vitamin C to do so. What does this have to do with sugar? As it turns out, most mammals can produce Vitamin C from sugar. Guess who didn’t make that list? That’s right, humans along with fruit bats, guinea pigs, and subhuman primates. Our genetic code is so similar that despite hundreds of thousands of years of evolution we still have those cravings for something sweet after a stressful encounter. Instead of the sweets, reach for citrus fruits, strawberries, or a good Vitamin C supplement (no, don’t go to Walmart or CVS and buy the cheap stuff. As soon as it’s exposed to oxygen, Vitamin C is useless as an antioxidant). If you’re still craving something sweet, try using Stevia as an alternative sweetener instead of sugar.
Exercise: Still feeling the effects of stress? That adrenaline isn’t going anywhere. It’s sitting in your bloodstream causing cortisol levels to remain elevated. In nature when that bear or lion was giving chasethe adrenaline would naturally burn off, or you would be eaten. Either way, the result of chronic elevated cortisol in the blood would not be an issue. Give yourself at least 20 sustained minutes of elevated heart rate through physical exercise every day. It isn’t necessary to turn to an Instagram fitness model’s page for the latest high tech way to perform bicep curls. A brisk walk will suffice. If you don’t like being outside in the cold, good old-fashioned push-ups, planks, and body weight squats are fantastic to keep the heart rate up.
Implementing just one change today will have a world of change down the road. Disease does not happen overnight, neither does good health. Be consistent, and you will see results.