9 Ways to Reduce Holiday Stress in 10 Minutes

How to Reduce Holiday Stress

Most of us look forward to the holidays. ,As much as you look forward to the holidays, it may seem the holiday season always comes with a little extra stress. What to do? We share 9 ways to reduce holiday stress in 10 minutes or less.  These quick tips might help this holiday season seem brighter, happier and a whole lot less stressful.

 

People have high expectations of the holidays; they want everything to be perfect. It seems the expectations start with Halloween and continue through to the New Year. Perfection is the seed of most discontent. Perfection can be found in the moment, but usually not in the entire holiday season. There are too many variables and too much pressure on everyone. As women we tend to take on too much to our already crazy schedule, then feel anxious and stressed out when everything and everyone doesn’t match our pictures.

The best way to destress your holidays is to take a moment or two for you. A break from the crazy pace of the season that refreshes, recharges, and renews your spirit allowing you to handle holiday stress better or maybe avoid it completely! We are going to show you that it doesn’t take much time to take a time-out; less than 10 minutes to slow you down and appreciate and savor the holidays. Lets get you enjoying the holidays and destress!

 

Try a Gratitude List

 

Whether it’s first thing in the morning or the last thing you do before you crawl under the covers; a gratitude list retrains your brain to focus on the positive of the day. What we focus tends to increase. Gratitude works and is a great to reflect back on over the years. Pick a journal that you are attracted to, write down 5 things you are thankful for that day or the day before, and appreciate the blessings in your life. We’ve found that doing your gratitude list at the end of the day works the best. Plus you are going to bed with positive thoughts in your brain–a good formula for a good night’s sleep!

 

Create a Destress Playlist

 

 

Reduce stress during the holiday season with your own music playlist. Nothing makes you feel merry and a little more less stressed that your favorite songs that bring back great memories. Music can lower cortisol, the stress hormone, lower blood pressure along with your heart rate, and reduces anxiety by just listening to music. Add in dancing around the house to music cranked up and you’ve got your de-stressor moment! You can create your destress playlist on iTunes, Spotify or Pandora, or by making a playlist from your favorite songs in your music library.

 

Try Meditation to Reduce Stress

 

 

I have Insight Timer on my iPhone. I have used it while waiting for family in the hospital, in traffic jams, and while waiting to pick up kids from school. What is great, is most free apps tantalize you with a few good meditations, but the reality is quite different; once the starter pack finishes they quickly lock you out. Insight Timer offer the largest free library of guided meditations on earth and the world’s most loved meditation Timer, for free: https://insighttimer.com

 

Stay in Present Moment-Say No to Multitasking

Most of us multi-task all the time, but this holiday season when you want to destress try focusing on just one task in present moment. Slow it down and notice all the nuances of what you are doing and it’s amazing how long 10 minutes can feel. So when you are doing an activity you enjoy during the holidays–whether baking cookies or bread, wrapping presents, or decorating your tree-drop everything else from your brain.  Notice all the small things about the task at hand and fully immerse yourself in the experience! You are mentally recharging and renewing yourself plus getting a task accomplished! It’s like meditation in motion!

 

Do What Makes You Happy

 

 

Taking a break from holiday parties and tasks doing what you love is a great way to reduce stress. Whether it’s reading recipes, gardening, palying tennis, or dancing; doing what you love is a great way to destress anytime. During the holidays we seem to focus so much on what makes others happy, which is good, but balance is good also.

Think of 3 to 4 holiday traditions or memories you have enjoyed the most; whether Christmas carols as a kid, tree lighting ceremonies, a special Christmas play, or a Chanukah tradition that meant so much to you.  Be sure to pencil in some of those plans into your holiday season. Focus on positive things even when stress is high, it helps you handle the stress with more ease. What causes stress to increase is not doing activities in your life that bring you joy.

 

Read or Knit for 10 Minutes

 

Have a book or your knitting handy and take a 10-minute break. It’s amazing how much you refresh grounding by knitting or digging in the garden or pulling out a book you love reading for just 10 minutes to take a break from your day. Curling up with a good book can be the ultimate winter activity, if not a whole book try short stories. For myself I like knitting for 10 minutes, little by little I finish a sweater and relax while doing it. Also pruning or digging in the dirt for 10 minutes is a great way to ground and get the busy out of your head.

 

Organize Something

 

 

Nothing like organizing a drawer or closet to help organize your life. When life feels like it’s on a roller coaster or stress is getting to you setting a drawer in order or getting your closet in order will make your feel like you’ve taken some control again that can also decrease your stress. Organizing even a small space in your life makes you feel like you’ve accomplished something and lets your life be al little more in place.

 

Acupressure Can Reduce Stress

 

 

Feeling anxious? You can do this exercise in the car, bathroom, your office, or even when you are walking. This acupressure move is called the Sea of Tranquility, it sends a calm down message to your brain. Find the small, slightly tender indentation in the center of breastbone. With three fingertips, press down gently for two minutes, then gradually release the pressure while you deeply breathe in and out. This acupressure technique not only helps you deepen your breathing, but it’s a natural tension releaser, which relaxes and renews you. Also, acupressure mats can help with back pain and can help reduce stress at the same time.

 

Go Outside & Breathe

Throw open the curtains and let the light in! Better yet, go outside no matter what the weather and gaze at all the natural beauty around you. Vitamin D naturally relaxes you, plus fresh air even if it is cold or rainy helps put you touch with the natural elements, which may help ground you. Try kicking some leaves like you did as a kid, or sweep your porch, both activities gets your heart pumping and gets you taking deeper breaths which helps oxygenate your blood and can help clear your brain.

Also give Crystal Clear Home a call before the holidays and let us help make your holiday to-do list a little lighter by cleaning your home before the holidays. You can give us a call at 707-827-3316 or fill out our FREE ESTIMATE FORM and we will give you a call right back to make your holiday merrier.