This photo was provided by talesbyjen.
Make sure you take the time to prioritize your self-care this holiday season. Many of us let our self-care be put on the back burner as we deal with pandemic stress, increased technology use, and busy work schedules.
Read this article to discover eight self-care tips that will help you feel your best this holiday season.
Get A Good Nights Rest
Sleep is crucial to your self-care. A good night's sleep can boost your immune system, improve your mood, and help with memory, all while giving you enough energy to enjoy your day. One way to improve your sleep quality is to set up a nighttime routine that allows you to relax before bed, ensuring a restful sleep. Some of my favorite ways to end the night include a warm cup of non-caffeinated tea, a good book, or listening to music. When you set aside the time to finish your evening peacefully, you are also giving yourself time to process your day and prepare for the next.
Click here to learn more about the benefits of sleep.
Cleaning
Sometimes when we are feeling overwhelmed, we let our homes get messy. We watch as dirty dishes stack up in the sink and our laundry hamper grow taller and taller. Every time we look at the Clutter, it stresses us out further; Vicky Motley, Senior Brand Manager at Zoflora, builds on this by saying, “Clutter can overstimulate the senses as it is often seen as unfinished business. As a result, large amounts of Clutter can reduce our ability to concentrate on other tasks and affect our ability to focus,”. Cleaning your home not only improves your ability to concentrate on tasks but also releases endorphins and promotes a sense of self-achievement.
Reduce Screen Time
Now that we are spending more time indoors, it is all too easy to let countless hours pass by scrolling through social media or watching Netflix. Before you know it, Netflix is asking that terrible question, "are you still watching?" making you wonder just how long you've been sitting on your couch. The blue light emitted from digital devices suppresses the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin and is also linked to lower cardiovascular health, irritability, strained eyes, headaches, chronic neck pain, and more. By limiting your screen time, you are protecting your mental and physical health.
To help set realistic guidelines for yourself, come up with an easy rule to limit your screen time. For example, maybe you don't use your phone after 8 pm or download an app to monitor how many hours you have used your phone. If you use an app, I highly recommend setting an automatic alert notification when you have hit your self imposed daily screen time limit.
Healthy Self-Talk
Self-talk is our internal dialogue. It is a combination of conscious thoughts and unconscious beliefs and biases, which provide a way for the brain to interpret and process daily experiences. Our self-talk can be cheerful and supportive or negative and self-defeating, as stated by Psychology Today.
Unfortunately for too many of us, the saying "you're your own worst critic" is all too true, and our inner dialogue can grow extremely harmful. Negative self-talk "may sound a lot like a critical parent or friend from your past. It can follow the path of typical cognitive distortions: catastrophizing, blaming, and the like", as stated by Elizabeth Scott, MS. When we put ourselves down regularly with negative self-talk, we also increase our chances of developing depression, increasing stress levels, experiencing relationship issues, and losing faith in ourselves. Bottom line, if you tell yourself repeatedly, you can't achieve something; eventually, you will believe it.
To practice healthy self-talk work to catch your inner critic. For example: If you start to think, "I failed and embarrassed myself," take a moment and switch it to a compliment. You can think (or say out loud), "I'm proud of myself for even trying. That took courage". The best advice to improve your inner dialogue is to think and talk about yourself as you do others; it vital to remember that we deserve our kindness as much as anyone else.
Dedicate Time To Activities You Enjoy
Give yourself scheduled time to do what you enjoy, whether it be taking a soothing bubble bath, watching your favorite show, or finally reading the book that’s been on your nightstand for months. When we dedicate time to activities that make us happy, we improve our general outlook and increase our motivation because we have something to look forward to.
“Doing one thing that you enjoy will help to give you a stronger appreciation for life, and help you to be more able to face the difficult tasks as well.” - Finding Focus
Limit Caffeine Intake
I love coffee as much as the next person. Coffee is my go-to in the morning as I prepare for the day and always gives me a sense of comfort (and energy) as I settle into my work. That being said, caffeine can have some side effects, especially when taken in excess. The side effects of consuming too much caffeine are insomnia, headaches, dizziness, rapid or abnormal heart rhythm, dehydration, anxiety, shakiness, and dependency. To help limit these effects, substitute non-caffeinated drinks when possible and limit your caffeine intake to the morning only. Not drinking caffeine in the afternoon and evening will help ensure that you can still fall asleep at a decent time.
Excercise
As much as we love to hate it, exercise has so many health benefits; it deserves its own blog post. Regular exercise helps maintain healthy body weight, reduce your risk of heart diseases, manage blood sugar and insulin levels, improve mental health, boost your mood, and keep your thinking skills sharp as you age. Some ways to help incorporate exercise into your routine is:
Make exercise more fun. Try listening to music or watching TV while you exercise. Also, mix things up a little bit - if you stick with just one type of exercise, you might get bored. Try doing a combination of activities to keep you engaged.
Track your progress. Keeping a log of your activity or using a fitness tracker may help you set goals and stay motivated.
Make everyday activities more active. Even small changes can make all the difference. Next time you take the elevator, try the stairs instead. Or if you need to go to the corner store, walk the mile there instead of driving.
Click here for more ideas on how you can incorporate exercise into your routine.
Massage
Last but certainly not least is massage therapy. Adding massage into your self-care routine has physical and mental benefits. Physically it reduces muscle tension and pain, helps relieve headaches, improves cardiovascular health, increases the balance in older adults, lowers blood pressure, increases range of motion, enhances the immune system, and so much more! In addition to its physical benefits, massage has also shown to be vital in helping clients facing anxiety and depression. The amta (american massage therapy association) builds on this by stating, “Massage therapy can be an effective treatment by elevating neurotransmitters associated with lowering anxiety and decreasing hormones associated with increasing anxiety”.
A study published in Military Medicine reports that military veterans indicated significant reductions in ratings of anxiety, worry, depression, and physical pain after massage. Their findings also suggest declining levels of tension and irritability after experiencing a massage.
This article was written by Christina Alvarez.
Have a self-care tip you’d like to share? Comment below!