In this festive month, when we say goodbye to the current year and get ready to receive the new one, it is important to practice some coping strategies that help protect our sleep.
Festive seasons are a great time to relax, enjoy friends and family, and do wonderful and heartwarming activities. But nearing the end of the year brings its own set of overwhelming challenges, too; many of us will indulge in one or more of these sleep-disrupting activities: travel, a roller coaster of emotions around family, large gatherings with lots of heavy food and drink at night, keeping up with friends’ late partying habits, drop in usual exercise and physical activities, stressful last minute shopping, evaluating the passing year, planning for the new year and so on. The result is perturbated sleep patterns and accumulated fatigue. Here are five tips to help you get through this period:
Enjoy!
Ho! Ho! Ho! Laugh, sing, dance, enjoy, and let go! Keeping a healthy sleep routine – by sleeping and waking up at the same time every day, starting your day with sunlight, avoiding late-night food and alcohol, and other sleep hygiene tips you might have read about in my previous articles – is definitely the way to go to maintain good quality sleep. However, sticking to these habits during exciting festive times may be difficult or even impossible. This is why it is important to give yourself permission to take a break from your daily sleep habits and allow yourself to enjoy your time around loved ones. After all, feeling love and being in a good mood are also key components of healthy sleep!
Digest. Digest. Digest
One of the significant difficulties we face during festive seasons is processing late-night heavy meals. When we have difficulty digesting, we are bound to have trouble getting good restorative sleep. Many tips could help with digestion. I’ve picked a couple of easy ones here:
- ACV: dilute a teaspoon of a good organic Apple Cider Vinegar (with the mother) in a room temperature or lukewarm glass of water. Drink it slowly until you finish it at least half an hour before eating or drinking.
- Digestive Enzymes: many digestive enzyme supplements can be taken at the start or during a meal to help digestion.
Be Grateful
Festive times are when we come to appreciate not only what we have but also what we can give. Practicing gratitude can help calm our overactivated brain during the holidays. Journaling and meditation are also valuable habits to practice during this time.
Create A New Family Tradition
Most of our festive family traditions are built around sharing heavy meals. Similarly, we can be creative in protecting our sleep: we can start our very own new family tradition of having a restorative afternoon nap during the holidays. When it becomes a tradition for all the family to take a power nap simultaneously, this brings the needed quiet to relax and reset while helping all family members recharge their batteries after the previous night and ahead of another long night. The trick here is for the nap to be short and for everyone to wake up from this nap at least 6 hours before going to sleep at night.
Festival Of Sleep Day
January 3rd is the Festival of Sleep Day. It is an unofficial holiday created to take a rest after a long festive season and to help us get back into our healthy routines. Why not add this special day to our new family traditions and start taking it as a family holiday too?
After all, the sooner we return to our healthy sleep routine, the better equipped we’ll be to achieve our objectives for the coming year!
“A day without a nap is like a cupcake without frosting.” – Terri Guillemets, Quotation Anthologist
