Four Tips to Make it Through the Holiday Daze!

Do the holidays put you in a holi-daze? It’s an unfortunate truth that this time of thanksgiving, celebration, and togetherness can in fact stress people out almost beyond their limit. Well, we’re here with some advice on how you can make it through the holidays, and, hopefully enjoy them!

• Lift your mood with sunlight!
  
  Sunlight stimulates the production of feel-good serotonin and also helps relieve seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which affects millions of Americans each year! Get some sunlight when you can (not easy this time of year, granted), and if those skies seem persistently gray both literally and figuratively speaking, consider asking your doctor about phototherapy — a treatment that utilizes doses of full-spectrum light.
• Do less
  
  If this looks at all familiar to you then you need to consider pumping those brakes on all those things that you do. Many of you are probably thinking, “Ha! Not likely! I’m too busy!” But you really, really need to take a look at your schedule and figure out what needs to be cut to give you more time to enjoy life. According to a Forbes article,  David Meyer from the University of Michigan published a study recently that showed that switching what you’re doing mid-task increases the time it takes you to finish both tasks by 25%.’Multitasking is going to slow you down, increasing the chances of mistakes,’ Meyer said. “Disruptions and interruptions are a bad deal from the standpoint of our ability to process information.”Microsoft decided to study this phenomenon in their workers and found that it took people an average of 15 minutes to return to their important projects (such as writing reports or computer code) every time they were interrupted by emails, phone calls or other messages.” And that’s taking a look at one’s schedule on a minute-to-minute basis, there are studies indicating that being busy all the time can be a real career impediment — not to mention a burden on family and personal life. Give it some thought!
• Massage your hoku
  
  Massage your what?! Your hoku point! While well-designed studies evaluating the efficacy of traditional medicine practices are few and far-between, take a look at this Michigan University article, “Brain Imaging Study Shows How Acupressure Fights Fatigue in Breast Cancer Survivors.” So, the “hoku point” is, according to The Energy Healing Site, “located on the back of the hand, in the webbing where the thumb and index finger meet. Find the exact point by bringing your thumb and index finger together. The muscle will bulge a little–that’s the spot.It can relieve headaches, as well as joint and muscle pain anywhere in the body. It is also good for soothing and calming, and for letting go of grief.”
• During this busy holiday season, try to stick with your daily routine. Don’t have one? Resolve to start one.
  While the last tip stressed trying to make yourself less busy, it’s important to find balance between “too busy,” and the other end of the spectrum “good routine.” According to GrowYouthful.com, “keeping to a regular schedule has both physical and mental benefits. Your body thrives on homeostasis – maintaining internal stability after some outside upset has caused an imbalance. Your environment is changing all the time, yet your body constantly adjusts itself to create the steady internal state that it needs for health and long life. Missing sleep or getting an unexpected sugar hit affects this healthy state of homeostasis.Growth hormones, digestive hormones, sex hormones, cortisol, insulin, blood glucose, feel-good hormones – they all have regular cycles throughout the day. They have a powerful effect on the best time of day for physical activities, thinking and creativity, sex and sports performance.” If you don’t have a good routine, resolve in 2018 to find one! And if you’re into the idea of good New Year’s resolutions to maximize your home organization and productivity, stay tuned for next week’s article!

That brings us to the close of another World Class Cleaning blog post; as always, we hope you’ve learned something! A good way to make yourself a little less busy? Give us a call and let us keep your home tidy while you spend more time relaxing!

p.s. bonus fifth tip: go for a walk! That’s right, walk that stress away! According to Ann Kulze, MD, “The rhythm and repetition of walking has a tranquilizing effect on your brain, and it decreases anxiety and improves sleep.”