Get In The Sleeping Spirit

⛄ For many, the holiday season is packed with all sorts of excitement. But it's also full of things that can throw a wrench in your sleep schedule—and by the time the New Year rolls around, you can find yourself dealing with a serious case of post-holiday exhaustion! 🥱

HOLIDAY EATING 🍰

All of those rich, decadent foods can make it harder to fall asleep after your big holiday meal. Luckily, you don’t have to forgo your holiday favourites completely in order to get a good night’s sleep; you just have to change the way you consume those foods. Try not to eat to the point of feeling excessively full.  Avoid foods that tend to cause you stomach pain, gas, or indigestion.

When you eat is also important. Eating your holiday meal early gives your body time to digest—so that by the time you’re ready to go to sleep, your body isn’t still trying to process the food you enjoyed earlier. 🍗🥧

HOLIDAY COCKTAILS 🍸

Alcoholic beverages may make you feel sleepy, and may even get you to sleep faster or earlier than it normally would, but alcohol gravely disrupts your sleep cycles to where you are actually getting mostly light sleep during the night—and you may not even be entering deep sleep or REM sleep [at all]. 💤

If you don’t want your holiday cocktails to mess with your sleep, try to limit the number of drinks you enjoy during the evening hours, and plan to stop drinking well before you go to bed. 🛌 Do your best to limit excessive alcohol consumption at night—and try not to consume any alcohol at least two hours before bedtime. 🕛

HOLIDAY STRESS 😧 🎄

If you’re one of the people that finds the holidays far more stressful than relaxing, it’s important that you find ways to manage your stress.

While the best way to manage stress will vary from person to person, some recommended strategies to help manage your stress for better sleep this holiday season include:

▶ Avoiding stimulants, like caffeine, throughout the day ☕

▶ Exercise, which reduces cortisol and releases stress-fighting endorphins 🎽

▶ Meditation and/or deep breathing exercises—especially before bed 🧘‍♀️

#holidays #sleep #eating #drinking #stress #wellness #wecanhelp #wilmot

Stay Standing This Winter!

Happy First Day of Winter!

Check out these tips to prevent slip-ups.

Falling on ice can leave you red-faced with embarrassment, or far more seriously, hurt badly from taking a knee to the ice or falling awkwardly on icy snow. Slippery sidewalks, driveways and icy parking lots can be risk factors for falls in winter. Avoid a bad fall with these top tips!

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Walk like a penguin

The penguin waddle helps you keep a centre of gravity over the front leg as you step, instead of split between the legs. Short strides also help keep your centre of gravity, which helps avoid falls. When walking, extend your arms out from your sides to increase your centre of gravity. Don’t keep your hands in your pockets!  Walk slowly, with short strides and try to land your steps with a flat foot.

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Keep walkways clear

Shovel snow and scrape ice as soon as possible. Liberally sprinkle ice melt product or sand onto walkways to provide foot traction and to make sure surfaces don’t turn to ice. This not only protects you and your family, but also postal carriers and others when they’re walking around your property. Where possible install or use handrails for extra support.

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Take all precautions

Be extra cautious walking after a storm. Tap your foot on potentially icy areas to see if it is slippery. Hold a railing while walking on icy steps. Stay steady by wearing proper winter footwear. Lightweight boots with a thick, non-slip tread sole will provide good traction on ice. If a sidewalk is icy down the middle, walk on the snow beside it to avoid slips.

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Lighten your load

Carry fewer bags on snowy days, since excess baggage can throw off your balance and make it tougher to regain your balance once you lose it. Keep your hands free by putting away your phone while walking – you may need to catch yourself!

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Boost balance with exercise

You can’t control the weather, but you can improve your balance through regular exercise. Exercise is an ideal way to help you stay safely on your feet because it helps improve balance, flexibility and strength. Talk to a chiropractor about ways to improve your balance and strength in order to prevent falls.

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Visit your chiropractor

Don’t let a fall get you down. If you do take a tumble, visit your chiropractor. They’ll get you back to doing the things you love to do and will work with the rest of your care team to help prevent future falls.

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#winter #staysafe #december

How To Make Exercise A Regular Habit

By Dr. John A. Papa, DC, FCCPOR(C)

The Christmas season is upon us and this means that New Year's resolutions are not far behind.  Starting an exercise program will likely be on many people’s resolution lists, and for good reason.  Regular exercise has long been identified as an essential element of good health.  Despite this fact, many struggle to make exercise a regular habit.  Below are some helpful tips that can help individuals stick with an exercise program.

Make Exercise Convenient:  Incorporating regular exercise into a busy life necessitates some planning and sacrifice so it becomes a priority.  This may require scheduling exercise into everyday routines and/or making regular exercise as convenient as possible, thereby increasing the likelihood that it remains a priority.  Exercise does not need to be time consuming.  Regular bouts of exercise for as little as 30 minutes a day can have a positive impact on health.

Make Exercise Safe:  An exercise that may be considered safe for one individual may not be safe for another due to age, physical limitations, and other health concerns.  If you are not sure where to start, consult with an experienced individual such as a personal trainer or health care provider who can assist in choosing activities that are appropriate for you.  If you have been inactive for a period of time, gradually ease into activity and take it slow.

Make Exercise Fun:  Individuals should choose a range of exercise activities that they enjoy.  Performing these activities with a workout buddy, friend, or family member also results in the exercise being more satisfying.  Those individuals who choose fitness and recreational activities they enjoy are more likely to be consistent with those activities.  Having another individual to share this with also increases the likelihood that you will continue with the exercise activity.

Make Exercise Feel Good:  Not only does exercise make you physically stronger; it also has the benefits of releasing excess tension, building self-esteem, and stimulating the body’s natural “feel good” chemicals called endorphins.  Although there may be some initial physical discomfort when beginning a new exercise program, this may be your body’s normal response when starting a new activity and should not last more than one to two weeks.  If discomfort or pain persists beyond this point, seek advice from a knowledgeable individual to make sure the exercise you are performing is appropriate and being done correctly.

Make Exercise Practical:  Individuals beginning an exercise program need to have realistic expectations about the amount of time they can invest, the activities they will enjoy engaging in, and the physical and psychological benefits they expect to experience.

Regular exercise leads to tremendous health benefits that can be initiated by individuals of any age or shape.  Hopefully we have inspired you to invest in the health of your future.  From all of us at the New Hamburg Wellness Centre, good luck and Season's Greetings!

This article is a basic summary for educational purposes only.  It is not intended, and should not be considered, as a replacement for consultation, diagnosis or treatment by a duly licensed health practitioner.