TOP TEN HOLIDAY HEALTH TIPS

Joel Samick,group exercise instructor at the Kennett Area YMCA

Follow these ten tips for a happy, healthy holiday season:

1) Walk: Dress warmly and take a brisk walk around the neighborhood. Bring your dog, your spouse and anyone else who is sitting at a computer terminal or TV screen. Use your walk as an interlude between holiday meal courses: you’ll eat less and burn more of it off. As a plus, the exposure to sunlight helps you make Vitamin D and feel better emotionally.

2) Sleep: If you sleep less than seven hours a night, you may be depriving your body of the rest it really needs. Can’t seem to get to sleep? Exercise helps. You can survive on less sleep, but there are likely to be undesirable effects to your immune system and appetite control.

3) Prioritize: Maybe only one of the four parties scheduled this week is really important. Cancel your plans for the others. This may allow you to keep to your exercise routine, control your eating and get the sleep you need. Don’t you feel better already?

 4) Make a new tradition: Traditions are wonderful, but they wouldn’t exist if no one ever made new ones. Start a new tradition this year, like eating a healthy festive meal and following it up with a BIG walk. Some of your old traditions may be unhealthy or getting a bit long in the tooth; know when to let go.

 5) Get out: Gorging ourselves all day long then watching hours of football while the kids text one another and follow along on Facebook may be great fun, but why not go somewhere or do something this year? Go bowling, ride a horse, ride your bike, jog, go rock climbing or visit the Y the day after.

6) Turn off your cell phone: Have you noticed? It’s constantly buzzing and ringing and flashing. No wonder you can’t seem to relax! Give it a rest. Turn it off and leave it in a drawer somewhere. GET OUT OF TOUCH FOR A DAY. It will be good for you and everyone around you. Let them leave you a message.

7) Drink before you eat: Drinking a glass of water or seltzer before a holiday meal helps with hydration and digestion and will make you feel fuller sooner so you will eat a bit less.

8) Schedule open time: Fine, go ahead and schedule every single minute of every day, just be sure to include scheduled open time so you can relax. It will make you more efficient and more fun to be with.

9) Work out:  You’ve seen the ads on TV; if the drug companies had their way we would all be taking a dozen pills daily. The ironic thing is that regular moderate exercise would eliminate the need for many of those drugs and their potential side effects.

 10) Eat healthy, live healthy: Instead of stressing about your weight during holiday season just persist year round in making good choices about your activities, what you eat and how much. Over time your good choices will add up!

 Enjoy your holidays and have a happy, healthy New Year!  

 

 

Joel Samick is a group exercise instructor at the Kennett Area YMCA, Kennett Square. Visit www.ymcabwv.org or any of its branches: Brandywine YMCA, Jennersville YMCA, Octorara Program Center, West Chester Area YMCA or the Oscar Lasko Youth Program Center.