Short of being a child, the holiday season is a time, while cheery, can be some of the most stressful times of the year.
Parties, presents, food and family are all just a few factors of the holiday that can cause that lack of peaceful sleep at night. We hope to not only offer a solution to this but to also allow some relatable holiday horror stories to put a smile on your faces.
Stress (Planning)
All year long we have birthdays and anniversaries; single days that we prepare for but don’t require much headspace. There is no competition for a certain stock at a store or pressure from family that eventually come together to see just how much thought you put into the holiday.
With this in mind, it is natural to feel the stress start to build as soon as you see those red, green and white colors popping up in your local stores. Mariah Carey’s voice infiltrates your ears and suddenly it’s time to focus on things besides work.
The time to plan is now, so set aside all factors and begin to plan. Naturally, this stress of making everything perfect can lead to patterns that will then affect your sleep. If you work a 9-5 job just to then come home to make dinner, and then pull out that phone or laptop to start searching for presents, what time is left to relax?
This is where your sleep is initially affected. Now let’s dive into some specifics.
Stress (Financial)
Retailers and stores can only do so much with their holiday discounts. With a holiday such as Christmas, the creativity and thoughtfulness of presents are truly taken into account. By no means does everyone you know expect you to buy them the childhood toy they told you about once (that probably isn’t even supplied anymore). Though there tends to be an expectation of receiving a gift of some sort.
Having a large family is a huge drain on the bank account over the holidays. Set aside the cost of presents, if you’re the one having everyone over now you have to worry about paying for that extravagant Christmas dinner.
Each year there is an increase in spending on Christmas dinner. The average traditional Christmas dinner ends up costing about $150. Of course this year especially, inflation has caused prices in ingredients to soar as well.
The extra preparation that is set in place as we stated, leads to stress. Stress prevents the necessary sleep we need. In extreme cases, it can even cause insomnia. Due to the surrounding worries of planning and specifics, when one attempts to sleep, those thoughts disrupt your sleep patterns.
When sleep loss occurs, the body’s stress response system activates a large amount of cortisol which continues to disrupt sleep. This unfortunately adds to the cycle of sleep loss by messing with your typical schedule.
In other scenarios, this lack of sleep can also affect memory and learning skills. Depriving yourself of sleep can even lead to a decreased metabolism.
Stress (Depression/Anxiety)
Not everyone is privileged enough to have a full family present with them on holidays. This can be a huge factor that plays into stress during the holidays. Our culture has made it a norm for holidays to be a time for spending with family.
To have a loving, supportive and kind family is something some people are not given. Loneliness is a powerful emotion that likely every human will experience in their lifetime. Maybe even often but this is something that can be aided.
Some things to consider
- Reach out to anyone you love
- Connect with someone who may be feeling the same emotions as you
- Avoid self-medication
- Understanding social media is fake (no one’s life is that perfect)
- Take a walk outside and appreciate the world around you
Whether you may have lost someone close to you or you are unable to be with the ones you love for a reason, remember your self-interest and try to work with your emotions. Everyone feels like this from time to time.
Relaxium provides supplements that can offer a sense of peace. It is called Relaxium Calm. It is a drug-free supplement that is designed to relieve stress and elevate mood. The use of an ingredient called Ashwagandha helps to aid in the stress and relaxation you need. Allow this to help mental clarity, stress relief, focus and relaxation.
Stress (Busy schedule)
This was hinted at earlier but it is important to acknowledge. Pressure from work and pressure from friends and family to present at events start to add up.
Far too many times you may not even realize but you have already agreed to handle more things than you can. Expectations to fulfill every duty may start to weigh heavily on you and that is normal. Though just because it is relatable, it is not a smart idea to ignore your overwhelming sense of duty.
Often we will have an “I’ll worry about it when it comes,” but procrastination gets you nowhere. If anything, that moment when a plan starts to come together and you’re unprepared, you are going to feel an overwhelming sense of stress.
Try to tackle things before the last minute and DO NOT be afraid to say no. If you have an immeasurable amount of things to do, understanding your mental well-being should always come first.
Stress (Travel)
Traveling is always a large part of the holidays. With that said, it is another stressor. Packing all of your things, getting to the airport, trying to sleep on the plane, jetlag and so on. This especially affects the sleep schedule. Acute or short-term insomnia can occur with frequent amounts of travel.
In cases like this, Relaxium has another supplement that is very useful for a situation like this. Relaxium Sleep is a supplement designed to help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer and wake up feeling refreshed and alert. We prioritize the importance of drug-free ingredients that are only designed to increase levels of sleep and relaxation.
Stressful but at the end of the day worth it
Hopefully, this did not make you feel dread when thinking of the holidays but it is important to acknowledge not every holiday is a movie. Everyone comes across problems and that is what makes us all human. Here at Relaxium we just hope to help you in those moments of stress.
To restful and healthy days ahead.
The Relaxium Team
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Sources:
https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-to-know-about-loneliness-during-the-holidays