Ahhhhhhh the holidays! A million things going a million different directions… and out of town guests! Don’t forget to take some time to decompress from the holiday stress. Your Woodbridge, Dale City VA chiropractor has some holiday tips to help keep you sane.
Tips to Relieve Holiday Stress:
Go for a walk.
The rhythm of walking has a tranquilizing effect on your brain. Shoot for a brisk 20 minute walk each day.
Set a budget.
Overspending is one of the biggest causes of holiday stress. Remember, the best gift you can give anyone is your time and attention.
Get some sunshine.
There’s nothing like a little fresh air and the feel-good serotonin boost we get from the sun to give us a lift.
Stick with your daily routine.
Try to maintain your regular schedule as much as possible. Your body likes routine.
Get a good night’s sleep
It’s more important than ever to schedule enough time to get your zzz’s
Don’t over schedule
It’s okay to say “no” to events that aren’t important to you. Manage your time wisely and remember the time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.
Stay well.
Though we can’t always dodge those winter germs, remind yourself and your family to take your vitamins and wash your hands.
Eat healthy.
Leave the belly to Santa. Don’t go overboard on sugary cocktails and party treats. Eat a balanced diet with lots of whole grains and veggies and drink lots of water.
Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Let go of the idea of a perfect holiday and enjoy the one you’re having. In the end, it’s all about spending time with the people you love.
Close your eyes and breathe.
Promise yourself more time to savor the best parts of the season and plan to have a worry-free, hurry-free, smile-filled holiday.
This time of year, can be more stressful than other times. Even with restrictions on getting together trying to make the holidays fun can be stressful even if the group is much smaller. Your Woodbridge, Dale City VA Chiropractor has some tips to help make the holidays less stressful.
It’s more important than ever to schedule enough time to get your zzz’s
Don’t over schedule
It’s okay to say “no” to events that aren’t important to you. Manage your time wisely and remember the time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.
Stay well.
Though we can’t always dodge those winter germs, remind yourself and your family to take your vitamins and wash your hands.
Eat healthy.
Leave the belly to Santa. Don’t go overboard on sugary cocktails and party treats. Eat a balanced diet with lots of whole grains and veggies and drink lots of water.
Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Let go of the idea of a perfect holiday and enjoy the one you’re having. In the end, it’s all about spending time with the people you love.
Close your eyes and breathe.
Promise yourself more time to savor the best parts of the season and plan to have a worry-free, hurry-free, smile-filled holiday.
When this time of year comes around, I get excited… for about two weeks. Than I start with that ______ ______ trip to NY!!! Once I recover from that hissy fit, I roll into Christmas. Another long hissy fit about getting stuff together and making sure things are ready. Finish that, and it is another ______ ______ trip to NY for my families Christmas right after New Year’s. As your Chiropractor in the Woodbridge, Dale City VA area I have some tips for you… and me on how to chill.
The rhythm of walking has a tranquilizing effect on your brain. Shoot for a brisk 20 minute walk each day.
Set a budget.
Overspending is one of the biggest causes of holiday stress. Remember, the best gift you can give anyone is your time and attention.
Get some sunshine.
There’s nothing like a little fresh air and the feel-good serotonin boost we get from the sun to give us a lift.
Stick with your daily routine.
Try to maintain your regular schedule as much as possible. Your body likes routine.
Get a good night’s sleep
It’s more important than ever to schedule enough time to get your zzz’s
Don’t over schedule
It’s okay to say “no” to events that aren’t important to you. Manage your time wisely and remember the time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.
Stay well.
Though we can’t always dodge those winter germs, remind yourself and your family to take your vitamins and wash your hands.
Eat healthy.
Leave the belly to Santa. Don’t go overboard on sugary cocktails and party treats. Eat a balanced diet with lots of whole grains and veggies and drink lots of water.
Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Let go of the idea of a perfect holiday and enjoy the one you’re having. In the end, it’s all about spending time with the people you love.
Close your eyes and breathe.
Promise yourself more time to savor the best parts of the season and plan to have a worry-free, hurry-free, smile-filled holiday.
Oh great it is Holiday season! We are all either heading out of town or having company come to us. That involves either being in horrible traffic and complaining about it when we get where we are going or waiting on our guests who will be complaining about it when they arrive. So, the first hour is a lot of complaining! Than the visit begins. Here are some tips from your Woodbridge, Dale City VA chiropractor to help you deal with Holiday Stress.
The rhythm of walking has a tranquilizing effect on your brain. Shoot for a brisk 20 minute walk each day.
Set a budget.
Overspending is one of the biggest causes of holiday stress. Remember, the best gift you can give anyone is your time and attention.
Get some sunshine.
There’s nothing like a little fresh air and the feel-good serotonin boost we get from the sun to give us a lift.
Stick with your daily routine.
Try to maintain your regular schedule as much as possible. Your body likes routine.
Get a good night’s sleep
It’s more important than ever to schedule enough time to get your zzz’s
Don’t over schedule
It’s okay to say “no” to events that aren’t important to you. Manage your time wisely and remember the time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.
Stay well.
Though we can’t always dodge those winter germs, remind yourself and your family to take your vitamins and wash your hands.
Eat healthy.
Leave the belly to Santa. Don’t go overboard on sugary cocktails and party treats. Eat a balanced diet with lots of whole grains and veggies and drink lots of water.
Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Let go of the idea of a perfect holiday and enjoy the one you’re having. In the end, it’s all about spending time with the people you love.
Close your eyes and breathe.
Promise yourself more time to savor the best parts of the season and plan to have a worry-free, hurry-free, smile-filled holiday.
Anyone of us who has ventured onto interstate 95 or the beltway during the week can’t help but feel stressed. The key is letting go of that stress as soon as possible. Not only does stress not feel good short term it can cause long term problems with your body. At my Woodbridge, Dale City VA Chiropractic office I see the effects of stress from tight shoulders to headaches. Here are a few tips that may help you to relax.
Breathe with intention.
I call this the quickie: Center yourself wherever you are, sitting or standing or lying down, feeling the parts of your body touching the ground…just feel that grounding with the earth. Breathe naturally at first, then after a few breaths, inhale for 4 counts while saying I am in your mind. Then exhale for 4 counts while saying at peace to yourself. Repeat this I am…at peace cycle at least 4 times or up to 2 minutes. –Aviva Romm, MD, herbalist and midwife
Zero in on your pressure points.
Key acupressure spots on the head, face, and hands are really close to bundles of nerves, and pressing on them can help relax the nervous system, which ramps up when we’re stressed. Try applying pressure to the meaty part of your hand between the thumb and forefinger. You could do it in a stressful meeting, on the sub-way…no one will be the wiser. –Daniel Hsu, doctor of acupuncture and Oriental medicine
Play that calming music.
The body’s internal rhythms entrain to the external rhythms of music, like when you go to the sea, and you start breathing slower and your heart rate slows down and starts moving closer to the rhythm and pace of the ocean. It’s the same with music, especially reggae, which I find incredibly calming. –Frank Lipman, MD, founder and director of Eleven-Eleven Wellness Center and author of The New Health Rules: Simple Changes to Achieve Whole-Body Wellness
Dance it out.
Research shows that romance reduces the production of stress-related hormones, and for my husband and me, dancing is very romantic. We started taking ballroom dancing lessons 9 years ago, and even when we’re just dancing around the house for a few minutes, it leaves us feeling youthful and excited. It makes the sparks fly, and that’s the opposite of stress. –Elaine Wyllie, MD, neurologist at Cleveland Clinic
Count your blessings.
Every night, note three things for which you’re grateful that day. They can be small, like a good cup of coffee, or big, like support from your family. Doing this has had a huge impact on my well-being, and it will on yours, too. –Gail Saltz, MD, author and associate professor of psychiatry at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell School of Medicine
In this area when your commute can be 25 minutes on Monday and 3 hours on Tuesday it is easy to see why we are all stressed out. At my Woodbridge, Dale City VA Chiropractic office I can see it first hand when my 5 pm appointment calls and they will be a half hour late. Than they call at 5:30 and the reschedule for the next day because they only moved a mile. And that is just our commutes that are a mess. There are tons of things that stress us out. Here are some good ideas to help us deal with daily stress.
Think Positively
“Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into positive,” said Hans Selye, author of the groundbreaking work around stress theory. When optimism is hard to muster, cognitive-behavioral therapy, which trains people to recognize negative thinking patterns and replace them with more constructive ones, can also help reduce the risk of chronic stress and depression.
Get Out and Enjoy Nature
While modern civilization has made our lives more convenient, it has deprived us of an essential source of stress relief—connection with nature. Studies show that interacting with nature can help lessen the effects of stress on the nervous system, reduce attention deficits, decrease aggression, and enhance spiritual well-being.
“Smell the Roses” for Better Mood
Aromatherapy, or smelling essential plant oils, recognized worldwide as a complementary therapy for managing chronic pain, depression, anxiety, insomnia, and stress-related disorders, can help you unwind. Orange and lavender scents, in particular, have been shown to enhance relaxation and reduce anxiety.
Relax with a Cup of Tea
During stressful times, coffee helps us keep going. To give yourself a break, however, consider drinking tea. Research shows that drinking tea for 6 weeks helps lower post-stress cortisol and increase relaxation. Habitual tea drinking may also reduce inflammation, potentially benefiting your heart health.
Laugh It Off
Humor relieves stress and anxiety and prevents depression, helping put our troubles in perspective. Laughter can help boost the immune system, increase pain tolerance, enhance mood and creativity, and lower blood pressure, potentially improving treatment outcomes for many health problems, including cancer and HIV. Humor may also be related to happiness, which has been linked to high self-esteem, extroversion, and feeling in control.
Build a Support System
Relationships are also key to health and happiness, especially for women. Women with low social support, for example, are more likely to increase blood pressure under stress. Loneliness may also contribute to stress in both men and women, also leading to poorer outcomes after a stroke or congestive heart failure. On the other hand, active and socially involved seniors are at lower risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Social support also helps cancer patients to boost the immune system and maintain a higher quality of life.
Employ the Relaxing Power of Music
Music, especially classical, can also serve as a powerful stress-relief tool. Listening to Pachelbel’s famous Canon in D major while preparing a public speech helps avoid anxiety, heart rate, and blood pressure, which usually accompany public speaking.
Singing and listening to music can also relieve pain and reduce anxiety and depression caused by lowback pain. Group drumming also showed positive effects on stress relief and the immune system. Music therapy can also elevate mood and positively affect the immune system in cancer patients and reduce fatigue and improve self-acceptance in people with multiple sclerosis.
To help people deal with stressful medical procedures, music can help reduce anxiety before surgery. When played during surgery, it can decrease the patient’s post-operative pain. Aiding recovery, a dose of calming music may lower anxiety, pain, and the need for painkillers.
Calm Your Mind
In recent decades, many forms of meditation have gained popularity as relaxation and pain relief tools. Focusing on our breath, looking at a candle, or practicing a non-judgmental awareness of our thoughts and actions can help tune out distractions, reduce anxiety and depression, and accept our circumstances. In cancer patients, meditation-based stress reduction enhances quality of life, lowers stress symptoms, and potentially benefits the immune system.
Guided imagery, such as visualizing pictures prompted by an audiotape recording, also shows promise in stress relief and pain reduction. Based on the idea that the mind can affect the body, guided imagery can be a useful adjunct to cancer therapy, focusing patients on positive images to help heal their bodies.
Enjoy the Warmth of Human Touch
Just as the mind can affect the body, the body can influence the mind. Virginia Satir, a famous American psychotherapist, once said that people need 4 hugs a day to help prevent depression, 8 for psychological stability, and 12 for growth. While asking for hugs may not work for some, massage can help us relieve stress and reduce anxiety and depression. Massage has also been shown to reduce aggression and hostility in violent adolescents, to improve mood and behavior in students with ADHD, and to lead to better sleep and behavior in children with autism.
Massage has other therapeutic properties, as well. Regular massage may reduce blood pressure in people with hypertension and may lead to less pain, depression, and anxiety and better sleep in patients with chronic low-back pain. Compared to relaxation, massage therapy also causes greater reduction in depression and anger, and more significant effects on the immune system in breast cancer patients.
Give Exercise a Shot
To get the best of both worlds, affecting the mind through the body while getting into good physical shape, try exercise. In one study, a group of lung cancer patients increased their hope due to exercise. Exercise can also reduce depression and improve wound healing in the elderly. Tai chi, which works for people of all ages, may enhance heart and lung function, improve balance and posture, and prevent falls, while reducing stress.
Ahhhhhhh Virginia is the only state I know that has to keep relearning that water plus cold equals ice. Leaving my chiropractic office in the Woodbridge, Dale City Virginia area last week to take my 25-minute commute home I realized they had to relearn it again. What should have been 25 minutes took 2 hours. I thought I had it bad, until I was complaining to patients the next day. Some took 7 hours to do 40 minutes… I quickly shut up. Then I thought let’s all relearn some way to deal with stress because I am sure VDOT will probably get surprised again this winter. Definitely next winter so keep these handy.
Think Positively
“Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into positive,” said Hans Selye, author of the groundbreaking work around stress theory. When optimism is hard to muster, cognitive-behavioral therapy, which trains people to recognize negative thinking patterns and replace them with more constructive ones, can also help reduce the risk of chronic stress and depression.
Get Out and Enjoy Nature
While modern civilization has made our lives more convenient, it has deprived us of an essential source of stress relief—connection with nature. Studies show that interacting with nature can help lessen the effects of stress on the nervous system, reduce attention deficits, decrease aggression, and enhance spiritual well-being.
“Smell the Roses” for Better Mood
Aromatherapy, or smelling essential plant oils, recognized worldwide as a complementary therapy for managing chronic pain, depression, anxiety, insomnia, and stress-related disorders, can help you unwind. Orange and lavender scents, in particular, have been shown to enhance relaxation and reduce anxiety.
Relax with a Cup of Tea
During stressful times, coffee helps us keep going. To give yourself a break, however, consider drinking tea. Research shows that drinking tea for 6 weeks helps lower post-stress cortisol and increase relaxation. Habitual tea drinking may also reduce inflammation, potentially benefiting your heart health.
Laugh It Off
Humor relieves stress and anxiety and prevents depression, helping put our troubles in perspective. Laughter can help boost the immune system, increase pain tolerance, enhance mood and creativity, and lower blood pressure, potentially improving treatment outcomes for many health problems, including cancer and HIV. Humor may also be related to happiness, which has been linked to high self-esteem, extroversion, and feeling in control.
Build a Support System
Relationships are also key to health and happiness, especially for women. Women with low social support, for example, are more likely to increase blood pressure under stress. Loneliness may also contribute to stress in both men and women, also leading to poorer outcomes after a stroke or congestive heart failure. On the other hand, active and socially involved seniors are at lower risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Social support also helps cancer patients to boost the immune system and maintain a higher quality of life.
Employ the Relaxing Power of Music
Music, especially classical, can also serve as a powerful stress-relief tool. Listening to Pachelbel’s famous Canon in D major while preparing a public speech helps avoid anxiety, heart rate, and blood pressure, which usually accompany public speaking.
Singing and listening to music can also relieve pain and reduce anxiety and depression caused by lowback pain. Group drumming also showed positive effects on stress relief and the immune system. Music therapy can also elevate mood and positively affect the immune system in cancer patients and reduce fatigue and improve self-acceptance in people with multiple sclerosis.
To help people deal with stressful medical procedures, music can help reduce anxiety before surgery. When played during surgery, it can decrease the patient’s post-operative pain. Aiding recovery, a dose of calming music may lower anxiety, pain, and the need for painkillers.
Calm Your Mind
In recent decades, many forms of meditation have gained popularity as relaxation and pain relief tools. Focusing on our breath, looking at a candle, or practicing a non-judgmental awareness of our thoughts and actions can help tune out distractions, reduce anxiety and depression, and accept our circumstances. In cancer patients, meditation-based stress reduction enhances quality of life, lowers stress symptoms, and potentially benefits the immune system.
Guided imagery, such as visualizing pictures prompted by an audiotape recording, also shows promise in stress relief and pain reduction. Based on the idea that the mind can affect the body, guided imagery can be a useful adjunct to cancer therapy, focusing patients on positive images to help heal their bodies.
Enjoy the Warmth of Human Touch
Just as the mind can affect the body, the body can influence the mind. Virginia Satir, a famous American psychotherapist, once said that people need 4 hugs a day to help prevent depression, 8 for psychological stability, and 12 for growth. While asking for hugs may not work for some, massage can help us relieve stress and reduce anxiety and depression. Massage has also been shown to reduce aggression and hostility in violent adolescents, to improve mood and behavior in students with ADHD, and to lead to better sleep and behavior in children with autism.
Massage has other therapeutic properties, as well. Regular massage may reduce blood pressure in people with hypertension and may lead to less pain, depression, and anxiety and better sleep in patients with chronic low-back pain. Compared to relaxation, massage therapy also causes greater reduction in depression and anger, and more significant effects on the immune system in breast cancer patients.
Give Exercise a Shot
To get the best of both worlds, affecting the mind through the body while getting into good physical shape, try exercise. In one study, a group of lung cancer patients increased their hope due to exercise. Exercise can also reduce depression and improve wound healing in the elderly. Tai chi, which works for people of all ages, may enhance heart and lung function, improve balance and posture, and prevent falls, while reducing stress.
Being a chiropractor in the Woodbridge, Dale City Virginia area I see my fair share of stressed out people. With I 95 constantly being under construction leaving my patients who work in the DC area guessing if their commute is going to be 40 minutes or 2 hours I can see why they get to my office with their shoulders pinned to their ears! Those are the days when I crank the electrical stimulation up to 20 and quietly leave the room! As a chiropractor I see plenty of patients dealing with stress and associated complaints. The ACA has put together a great list of ways to help cut the stress… or at least make it manageable!
Think Positively
“Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into positive,” said Hans Selye, author of the groundbreaking work around stress theory. When optimism is hard to muster, cognitive-behavioral therapy, which trains people to recognize negative thinking patterns and replace them with more constructive ones, can also help reduce the risk of chronic stress and depression.
Get Out and Enjoy Nature
While modern civilization has made our lives more convenient, it has deprived us of an essential source of stress relief—connection with nature. Studies show that interacting with nature can help lessen the effects of stress on the nervous system, reduce attention deficits, decrease aggression, and enhance spiritual well-being.
“Smell the Roses” for Better Mood
Aromatherapy, or smelling essential plant oils, recognized worldwide as a complementary therapy for managing chronic pain, depression, anxiety, insomnia, and stress-related disorders, can help you unwind. Orange and lavender scents, in particular, have been shown to enhance relaxation and reduce anxiety.
Relax with a Cup of Tea
During stressful times, coffee helps us keep going. To give yourself a break, however, consider drinking tea. Research shows that drinking tea for 6 weeks helps lower post-stress cortisol and increase relaxation. Habitual tea drinking may also reduce inflammation, potentially benefiting your heart health.
Laugh It Off
Humor relieves stress and anxiety and prevents depression, helping put our troubles in perspective. Laughter can help boost the immune system, increase pain tolerance, enhance mood and creativity, and lower blood pressure, potentially improving treatment outcomes for many health problems, including cancer and HIV. Humor may also be related to happiness, which has been linked to high self-esteem, extroversion, and feeling in control.
Build a Support System
Relationships are also key to health and happiness, especially for women. Women with low social support, for example, are more likely to increase blood pressure under stress. Loneliness may also contribute to stress in both men and women, also leading to poorer outcomes after a stroke or congestive heart failure. On the other hand, active and socially involved seniors are at lower risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Social support also helps cancer patients to boost the immune system and maintain a higher quality of life.
Employ the Relaxing Power of Music
Music, especially classical, can also serve as a powerful stress-relief tool. Listening to Pachelbel’s famous Canon in D major while preparing a public speech helps avoid anxiety, heart rate, and blood pressure, which usually accompany public speaking.
Singing and listening to music can also relieve pain and reduce anxiety and depression caused by lowback pain. Group drumming also showed positive effects on stress relief and the immune system. Music therapy can also elevate mood and positively affect the immune system in cancer patients and reduce fatigue and improve self-acceptance in people with multiple sclerosis.
To help people deal with stressful medical procedures, music can help reduce anxiety before surgery. When played during surgery, it can decrease the patient’s post-operative pain. Aiding recovery, a dose of calming music may lower anxiety, pain, and the need for painkillers.
Calm Your Mind
In recent decades, many forms of meditation have gained popularity as relaxation and pain relief tools. Focusing on our breath, looking at a candle, or practicing a non-judgmental awareness of our thoughts and actions can help tune out distractions, reduce anxiety and depression, and accept our circumstances. In cancer patients, meditation-based stress reduction enhances quality of life, lowers stress symptoms, and potentially benefits the immune system.
Guided imagery, such as visualizing pictures prompted by an audiotape recording, also shows promise in stress relief and pain reduction. Based on the idea that the mind can affect the body, guided imagery can be a useful adjunct to cancer therapy, focusing patients on positive images to help heal their bodies.
Enjoy the Warmth of Human Touch
Just as the mind can affect the body, the body can influence the mind. Virginia Satir, a famous American psychotherapist, once said that people need 4 hugs a day to help prevent depression, 8 for psychological stability, and 12 for growth. While asking for hugs may not work for some, massage can help us relieve stress and reduce anxiety and depression. Massage has also been shown to reduce aggression and hostility in violent adolescents, to improve mood and behavior in students with ADHD, and to lead to better sleep and behavior in children with autism.
Massage has other therapeutic properties, as well. Regular massage may reduce blood pressure in people with hypertension and may lead to less pain, depression, and anxiety and better sleep in patients with chronic low-back pain. Compared to relaxation, massage therapy also causes greater reduction in depression and anger, and more significant effects on the immune system in breast cancer patients.
Give Exercise a Shot
To get the best of both worlds, affecting the mind through the body while getting into good physical shape, try exercise. In one study, a group of lung cancer patients increased their hope due to exercise. Exercise can also reduce depression and improve wound healing in the elderly. Tai chi, which works for people of all ages, may enhance heart and lung function, improve balance and posture, and prevent falls, while reducing stress.
