This could include things like financial issues, extra obligations and family dramas going on that can cause stress. More importantly, managing studies with all the Christmas arrangements and spending time with friends and family can also pile on the stress.
Shopping
It’s no doubt that all the big shopping centres will be jam-packed with a sea of people desperate to snap up some Christmas goodies for their loved ones. Check to make sure everything is in place on time.
Aromatherapy
If you’re worried about getting high-stress levels over the holiday period, then one of the ways to relax is aromatherapy. Using oils like lavender, sandalwood, chamomile and jasmine can help you relax.
For example, they can help relieve headaches, ease tension, aid digestion, lift the mood and calm emotions. You can use aromatherapy in massage and inhalation by using a diffuser.
Avoid Drinking Too Much Alcohol
Alcohol consumption is always inevitable during New Year’s eve. But alcohol is also dehydrating and makes you less able to handle stressful situations.
Alcohol is also a huge cause of low mood, irritability and can often make you prone to behaving aggressively.
Drinking less alcohol will make you relax a lot better and help you maintain better physical and mental wellbeing.
Movies
No Christmas would be complete without a great film! Lose yourself in Christmas classics such as Home Alone, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Love Actually and Elf, which are the ultimate go-to films for festive fun. Also, watching films can help us create a healthy distance from any problems or issues we have and decreases stress hormones by laughing.
Do Breathing Exercises
During periods of stress, our heartbeat drastically increases and breathing shallows as part of the fight or flight reaction. Take very slow deep breaths through your nose and that’ll help reduce stressful feelings.
Deep breathing will cause lots of beneficial changes in the brain so that you’ll cope with stressful situations better and relax at Christmas.
Do The Things That You Enjoy
Save some time to engage in activities that you enjoy the most. That may possibly include reading a great book, have a relaxing bath, go for a walk, plan a spa day or watch some TV.
There’s nothing wrong with having a little bit of escapism and ‘me-time’ every now and then.
Get Plenty Of Sleep
Our sleep patterns can tend to be all over the place during the Christmas holidays. So it’s important that you’re not only able to fully relax at Christmas, but you’re able to sleep properly.
Get a better night’s sleep and make sure that you keep your stress levels down.
Be Well Prepared
Advanced preparation is highly necessary if you want to really relax. Knowing that you’ve got as much done as possible is a huge relief. So start off by making a list of things that you need to do or get for Christmas and New Year holiday, such as shopping, food and presents.
Make sure you prioritise things on the list and decide how important they are and whether they can wait till later on. It’ll also leave some necessary time for fitting studying around those extra commitments.
Budgeting
There’s so much financial pressure over the Christmas period. Buying food, drink, presents and decorations are bound to burn a massive hole in your bank balance.
Being in control of your finances and budgeting effectively makes Christmas a lot less stressful, will help you sleep better and relax at Christmas.
It’s therefore important to curb your spending and stick to an affordable budget and avoid getting into any debt.
Avoid Perfectionism
The pressure to be perfect and feeling pressured to get the absolute perfect gift for loved ones is often the high point of stress.
Just take a deep breath, have faith in yourself and believe that you’ve done your absolute best.
At the end of the day, Christmas is all about having fun and taking time out of our busy working lives and our studies to spend some proper time with loved ones. So why not just enjoy yourself and allow yourself to relax at Christmas…