20 Something Sudbury | Page 18

Health www.20somethingsudbury.ca YOUR HEALTHY HOLIDAY SURVIVAL GUIDE It’s December – the most wonderful time of the year! You can’t wait to spend some quality time celebrating with family and friends. You’ll get to that eventually, but first there are exams to write, parties to plan, guests to be entertained, a house to decorate, baking to be done, presents to be bought, snow to be shoveled and twentyseven other things that you can’t think of right now! Yes – the holidays are upon us. The holiday season can be a stressful time for many of us. Fortunately, having a plan to deal with the demands of the holidays can drastically reduce the levels of stress you experience during this busy time. Here are some tips to help you through the holiday season. Get Organized Being unorganized is a huge contributor; to holiday stress. Disorganization related stress can lead to many health problems including: anxiety, difficulty sleeping and high blood pressure. You can prevent these problems from occurring by keeping a calendar with important events on it. Making daily to do lists will help you prioritize tasks and will keep you motivated as you cross items off the list. Enjoy the Sunlight Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) can be triggered by a lack of sunlight as daylight hours diminish. Combat SAD by spending time outdoors or near windows on sunny days. If this isn’t possible, consider asking your health care professional about light b