
Give yourself a stress-free Christmas
Linda MyrbergFor many, December and Christmas time is the time when you prioritize yourself and your training the least, with the consequence that you lose even more energy and the risk of getting sick increases. In fact, this may be the time when you really need to support all the stress that comes with “everything that needs to be done before Christmas” with an everyday moment for yourself!
It is actually true that exercise prevents stress, in several different ways because when you are stressed or when you exercise, the amount of adrenaline and cortisol in the body increases. After you have exercised, the stress system relaxes again in your body and the secretion of stress hormones decreases. Exercise therefore “burns” stress hormones.
Regular exercise is beneficial for sleep for most people. Sleep is important for avoiding and recovering from stress.
So there are many reasons to keep exercising, and make it a part of everyday life, perhaps especially important in stressful times.
The biggest reason for skipping training for many is that it becomes too complicated, you have to book a session at a gym and then you have to get there and home, and voila, you have spent two hours and that may not always be time you have. So the best tip we can give is to just get outside, put on a good podcast or music and walk/jog at a brisk pace for 30-45 minutes! Effective and without frills, and you get fresh air and hopefully some natural vitamin D too!
So in the midst of all the Christmas stress, take some time for YOU where you can move and feel good, you'll get it back a hundredfold!