The holiday season is officially here! But let’s face it, maintaining healthy habits isn’t always easy this time of year. Between contemplating whether you should eat another piece of Halloween candy or determining who will host Thanksgiving, the holidays (no matter how big or small) can leave you in a state of disarray.
Instead of getting overwhelmed, let’s look at some habits you can start now to help you stay healthy this holiday season.
Pay Attention to Your Hair/Skin
Since the weather is usually dry and cold soon after fall starts, you may find your pre-existing hair or skin conditions worsening. Psoriasis and eczema tend to flare up with cold weather, so including products with ingredients like aloe vera, glycerin, and jojoba oil is essential.
It’s important to note that your hair and skin also indicate a lot about your internal health. That’s why it’s crucial to track any abnormal changes you experience. For example, excessive hair loss can signify a condition like androgenic alopecia (male pattern baldness) or anemia, while extremely dry skin can indicate a condition like thyroid disease.
One of the best ways to maintain internal health is by getting the proper water intake. Water isn’t a cure-all, but it is essential for a person’s overall health. To help yourself get the right amount of H2O, consider purchasing a LARQ Pitcher PureVis. It filters out impurities and prevents you from ingesting contaminated water. Unfiltered water can contribute to many health problems, so you want to keep your water as clean as possible. Lead is unfortunately a common contaminant in tap water due to aging infrastructure and piping that continues to erode and leach toxic chemicals into our waterways no matter how rigorous the water purification is at the source. Contaminants such as lead, PFAS, microplastics, and more have been linked to serious health issues such as diseases, cancers, and birth defects. Investing in a good tap water filtration pitcher like the LARQ filtering pitcher will help remove these toxic contaminants and even eradicate bacteria such as E.coli that may fester in the filtered water.
Take Care of Your Home
Your home should be the one place where you can kick up your feet and relax your mind after a long day. So why should you prioritize taking care of your house around the holidays? Because surprisingly, the state of your home often reflects the state of your mind. An organized home typically signifies a more organized mindset, while a chaotic one can indicate stress or mental challenges.
Not only that but having a cluttered or untidy space can actually increase feelings like anxiety. Since the holidays are notoriously hectic, you want to ensure that you minimize stress in any area of your life that you can—especially the home.
Some ways to achieve that include:
→ Taking out the trash often
→ Lighting candles or using air fresheners
→ Dusting off all reachable surfaces
→ Making your bed
→ Cleaning your water bottles if you don’t have a self-cleaning one.
→ Disinfecting all surfaces
While most people know what is necessary to keep a house tidy, sometimes a refresher is helpful!
Prioritize Your Mental Health
The holiday season is supposed to be a joyous time, so it’s a good idea to avoid anything or anyone that may ruin that for you. Being around loved ones is one of the best things about celebrating holidays. However, you may have certain family members that rather not be around, and that’s okay!
Your mental health comes first. You do not have to force yourself to be around an individual(s) that makes you feel less than stellar about yourself. Family members are not entitled to your time, and you have the right to skip going to a specific home or gathering if that’s the case.
Things you can do on holidays instead:
→ Volunteer your time to help others.
→ Video chat with people you want to see.
→ Have an at-home self-care day.
→ Create new traditions with your close circle.
Also, communicate with your family about how a particular individual affects your well-being. A simple conversation may mitigate many problems and help you survive your family gathering.
Practice Gratitude
The holiday season isn’t easy for everyone, and sometimes it’s difficult to remember the things that are going right in your life. Losing sight of the positive things you experience can put you into a space of negativity that’s hard to get out of.
Practicing gratitude can help you to remember all the good that’s happening in your life. Maybe you just got promoted, or you’ve just gotten back into a hobby you love, make time to acknowledge positive things to help you get into a more positive mindset.
Sometimes it’s easier said than done when trying to get yourself out of a rut, but it is possible! Check out these gratitude exercises that can help you remember all that makes you happy in your life.