1. Enjoy good food
No doubt many of us will overindulge during the festive season.
It’s not about what we eat between Christmas and New Year – but what we eat between New Year and Christmas.
Eating mindfully is a great way to prevent overindulging. We can slow down and take time to enjoy what’s on our plates. And if we do have generous portions, we should make sure vegetables take up a large part of our plate.
2. Be merry (but not sorry)
After closing our doors and keeping our distance for months at a time, most of us are looking forward to a drink with friends or family this year.
With catch-ups, work parties and general celebration, it’s easy to become ambivalent to the amount of alcohol we consume.
But let’s not forget about the side-effects, which include negative impact on our mental health as well as the physical toll on our bodies.
Check out the latest advice on why we should drink no more than 10 standard drinks in a week - and no more than four standard drinks on any one day.
3. Make a budget
We all risk spending more than usual, sometimes when we can’t afford it, so make budget and stick to it. Our finances can often lead us to increased stress levels and compromised mental health, but we can stay in control by writing down what we absolutely need to buy and what we want to spend. This allows us to stay focused and avoid buying more than we need.
4. Switch off
Listen to music, watch a movie, binge some episodes on Netflix, or do some exercise.
Switching off from the world to do something we enjoy helps everyone. And we can also stop trying to please other people.
5. Bust a move
Plan time for some physical activity as this is often the first thing to drop from our routine or schedule. If you’re not into regular exercise, just book time in your day for a walk.
Anything that gets us moving for 30 minutes or more will boost our mental and physical wellbeing.
6. Go drink a glass of water
Sounds strange to plan, but we easily forget how important this is and we can all benefit by having regular check ins to keep ourselves hydrated.
7. Get a good night’s sleep
Another obvious one but we all know how we feel after a poor night’s sleep. Exercise, taking time to switch off during the day helps with quality sleep too. Check out Assure’s sleep tip sheet for more advice.