The holiday season is on its way! It’s a time of celebration and spending time with family and friends. But it can also be stressful for a variety of reasons. The weather isn’t as great as the rest of the year, everyone is getting colds and the flu, and everything seems to get busier at this time of year.
Even though there’s plenty to love about the holidays, there’s enough to make you dislike it too. The stress of trying to get everything organized for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and handling all of the other things that you need to do as the year comes to a close, can leave you wishing it was the new year already.
If you feel like you need something to help you unwind, a massage could be just what you require. A good massage enables you to relax and deal with all of the stress that can come with the holidays.
The Stresses of the Holidays
It would be great if the holidays were all fun and reindeer games. Unfortunately, there can be a lot that causes you to stress about the end of the year festivities. Some of the things that you might find start to stress you out happen every year, but you can be ready for them.
- Organizing holiday plans:Trying to plan for the holidays can be tough, especially if you’ve left it until the last minute. It’s especially complicated if you have to juggle different family commitments. Whose turn is it to host Thanksgiving this year? Who gets to see the grandkids at Christmas?
- Traveling: When your holiday plans are in place, getting to where you need to be can cause a lot of stress, especially in the holiday rush! When you’re not running about or standing around waiting, you’re spending long hours in the car or on planes and other transport.
- Sore feet and aching back: When the holidays arrive and it gets a little colder, you can find that your feet and back start to ache more than usual. Cold weather tightens your muscles, which can worsen lower back pain and other troubles. The holidays often require that you spend a lot of time on your feet too, shopping, cooking, waiting in line, and more. Back pain could be made worse by yard work or even climbing into the attic to get your holiday decorations.
How Massage Can Help
Having a massage can solve almost any stressful holiday ache or pain. If you’re feeling the effects of creeping holiday stress, you need to address all of that tension. A massage will help you to loosen your muscles, unknot those knots and stop carrying so much tension. Massage has a range of benefits, especially during the holidays.
- Get rid of stress and anxiety: There’s no need to take the weight of the world on your shoulders during the holidays. The more you stress, the more you will tense up, and the more stressful everything will feel. A massage loosens your muscles and can even reduce the levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, in your body. It can lower your blood pressure and increase levels of happy hormones dopamine and serotonin.
- Boost your immune system: The colder months can be a time for illness, and it can be tough to stay well. Your immune system even knows when it can finally relax and let its guard down – right when you start your holiday. But massage can boost your immune system by improving the production of white blood cells.
- Deal with pain: If you have aches and pains anywhere in your body, a massage is just what you need to get rid of them. Whether your back, shoulders or feet are causing you problems, a single massage session could help you to feel well again. Of course, more than one massage can help you to keep feeling good.
Other Ways to Have a Happy Holiday
If you want more ways to stay relaxed this year and have happy holidays, there are lots of things you could do to help your holidays go smoothly.
- Watch your diet: Holidays are traditionally for over-indulgence, but make sure you get some vegetables during the season.
- Get plenty of sleep: Don’t skip any sleep if you want to remain well and keep stress at bay.
- Stay active:Exercise is important if you want to avoid your muscles protesting when you decide to move after too much inactivity.
- More spa treatments:If you really want to pamper yourself, get a body scrub, have a facial or even try a spa day.
Try not to get too stressed during the holidays. Take care of yourself, including having a massage to help you stay relaxed. We can help you relax, check out all the massage choiceswe have to offer and choose the best for you. Don´t miss this opportunity to relax and enjoy the last months of the year!