Holiday Stress Can Activate Your Stress Hormones And This Puts Your Body In A Catabolic (fight or flight) State. This Tears Your Body Down!

It is the most magical time of year supposedly. The holidays are supposed to bring around feeling of love, joy, and happiness. However, in reality the holidays can bring about a fair amount of stress.

Beat holiday stress with a massage

It seems like during the holidays you never have enough time to do everything that you need to do, and the parking lot at the mall can push you to the brink of patience. With things like this going on during the holiday season, you cannot help but start to hold physical stress in your body.

How Can You Tell if You Are Suffering From Holiday Stress?

One of the most common indicators that you are experiencing holiday stress is  that you start to feel pain in your body. This pain can be in your legs, feet, neck, shoulders, or even show up as headaches. This pain is typically an indicator that you are holding stress in your body and it can manifest itself in tight muscles, trigger points and even knots in your muscles.

The holidays are so busy that it is difficult to take care of yourself. However, it is important that you do choose to take care of yourself especially during the holidays or you will not be able to get everything done that you need to. One of the best ways to take care of your self is to take time out to get a massage.

But You Can Also Reduce Your Stress Levels By The Following:

• Eat and drink right - this means to reduce your white flour, sugar, milk and processed foods intake. And drink plenty of water; its recommended that you drink half your body weight in ounces. So a 125 lbs. person would drink about 65 ounces of water this is in-addition to other drinks you may consume.
• Move and Exercise - regular exercise can play a major role in stress-reduction.
• Identify  your primary stressor - by identifying your primary cause of stress and reducing that will often create a domino effect on the other stressors you may be feeling.
• Get to bed by 10:30 pm - this keeps your body in normal sleep/wake cycles that are key to muscle repair and tissue building.  a disrupted sleep/wake cycle can also cause adrenal fatigue. This is called, the circadian cycle.
• Get a massage and/or buy a massage gift certificate - oh did I say that already….lol!

What Are the Benefits of Massage?

Many people qualify a massage as something that we do when we want to pamper ourselves, but in reality, it is really something that will help you maintain your health and wellness. In studies, it has been proven that more than 90% of diseases are related to stress. Even with that statistic, people are reluctant to take time out for themselves.

Get a massage for that holiday stress

Massage will actually help to decrease and manage your stress both internally and externally. Individuals who take the time to have regular massages have experienced drops in anxiety and a better quality of sleep. They have also reported higher energy levels and better concentration. Physically, massage can lead to better blood circulation.

In fact, the list of benefits goes on and on and even includes an enhanced immunity system due to the fact that the massage will stimulate your body’s lymph flow.

Something to Remember During the Hustle Bustle of the Holidays

The Christmas season is supposed to be about the spirit of Christmas. It is important to remember during this busy time that it is actually supposed to be about the joy, magic, and love of the season. So the next time that you are out shopping for Christmas presents and you are stuck in a long line try not to let the tension of waiting get the best of you. Try talking to others in the line. It may make the wait not seem so long.

Or you can  use those few minutes to pick up your cell phone, make a call, and schedule your next massage appointment. Your body will thank you for it. And while you are there think about getting your loved ones a massage gift certificate because chances are their bodies need it too!

Reference:

“How To Eat, Move and Be Healthy” Paul Chek