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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – The holidays are a time to reflect by spending quality time with family, friends and loved ones. But are you also feeling overwhelmed by a calendar that’s overbooked with shopping, parties and other holiday commitments?
“You shouldn’t have to connect every dot,” says Dr. Amit Sood, a Mayo Clinic resiliency expert. “Holidays should be about recovering from weeks and months of stress ─ not about packing in so much stuff.”
In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Dr. Sood offers some tips to make the holiday season wonderful again.
‘Tis the season to be busy. If too much hustle and bustle has you stressed, this Mayo Clinic doctor says: Get some sleep.
“In my order of priorities, sleep is like No. 1, No.2, No.3, No.4,” says Dr. Sood, author of The Mayo Clinic Guide to Stress-Free Living. He says a little shut-eye will go a long way.
“Most of the patients I see, they’re behind on sleep. So if you can catch extra time, take a one-hour nap.”
Then, Dr. Sood says, take a pen to your to-do list.
“Make a ‘not-to-do list’ — not a to-do list. Because I have no doubt in my mind you’re doing stuff that you don’t need to do, which is crowding your life.”
Dr. Sood says a “not-to-do list” creates the gift of time in your holiday schedule — time for experiences and for being grateful.
“Between Thanksgiving and New Year, that is the time when gratitude is in the air. This is a time of reflection. This is a time of rejuvenation. And that’s what we should focus on.”