Self-care tips to stay healthy during the holidays and finals

You did it. You’ve finally survived finals week—barely though—only a half ponytail and your body weight in caffeine to prove it.

Or maybe, you’ve just gone shopping for the kids’ Christmas presents or last-minute ingredients for Thanksgiving dinner.

You frantically scrub your kitchen counters and wash the dishes because your in-laws arrive tomorrow. You forgot to thaw the turkey and just found out your brother’s fiancée is gluten-free. You run to the store for the 30th time, set the table, try to get the kids to wear the festive outfits your mom bought them, and finally get through the holidays.

Finally, some “me-time” to catch your breath: only you wake up not able to breathe that well. A tickle in the back of your throat and a stuffy nose as late Christmas presents.

Before last Friday, I had written 25 pages, taken a final, and fulfilled several other responsibilities. I kept pushing through, knowing I’d get a whole, week-long break off the following week for Thanksgiving.

I kept pushing and pushing. Friday morning, my last day before Thanksgiving break, I woke up feeling kinda funky. I thought I was just tired, so I brushed it off. By the time I got out of class, I felt as if I was going to pass out. My husband the same.

Both of us wobbled home, knocked out sick with body aches and headaches for the weekend.

If you also tend to get sick at the holidays, after/during finals, or at any break or vacation time in your life, I’m here to tell you two things: one, it might not be just bad luck—there’s actually a physiological explanation for it. Two, self-care is the answer to staying healthy and preventing this “bad luck” illness from happening again.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

In psychology, this inconsiderately timed illness is a phenomenon called General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS). There are three stages of GAS: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

When we are under stress, our bodies get alerted that they need to work harder or go into “flight” mode to help us meet the task at hand—that’s the alarm. If this alarm goes off for too long, too hard, and isn’t snoozed or taken care of, our bodies will kick into the next stage—resistance. In this stage, our body's energy and resources will kick up a notch, giving us the mental and physical strength we need to study for those finals and get the house ready for the holidays and company.

If we continue to go-go-go for a while, our health gets depleted, runs out of resistance juice, and shuts down, making us vulnerable to sickness. Thus, we have an exhausted, low-battery you in the middle of the cold and flu season.

So, the reason for our bad-luck-timed sicknesses? Lack of self-care. We push and expect too much from ourselves. We need to recharge before we run out. Before we get sick.

Here are some self-care tips to keep you healthy and full of peaceful tidings around the holidays, finals, major projects, due dates, or whatever sets off your body's alarm.

Cold and flu season self-care tip #1

Take a break

Whether you're studying or holiday prepping, make sure to take breaks in between. Don’t force your body and mind to jump from one activity to another. If you really don’t have time for a 10-15 minute break, try to at least take 3-5 deep breaths before going onto the next thing. It’s okay to rest. You will actually be able to get more done and retain more if you let yourself reset and recharge a bit.

Cold and flu season self-care tip #2

Get enough zzz’s

Try to get at least 7 hours of sleep each night. Your body needs proper sleep in order to stay well and function and recharge. If you’re a student, you may be tempted to stay up till 3 am to study. STOP. 1 more hour of sleep could help you more on your chemistry test than staring at your now-blurry textbook for another hour while sipping [chugging] caffeine.

Cold and flu season self-care tip #3

Take your vitamins

Vitamin C and D are especially vital for your health and immune system. Make sure you’re stocking up on those—especially Vitamin D—as we tend not to be exposed to the sun as much this time of year.

Cold and flu season self-care tip #4

Ask for help

You don’t have to do this all alone. Ask a family member or friend to help you shop, cook, set the table, or take care of the kids. Ask a friend to help you study, or take a short break from your studies with them.

We don’t have to do everything by ourselves. So many people love and are willing to help you. Sometimes, you just need to ask.

Cold and flu season self-care tip #5

Listen to your body

Need water? Fruits? Veggies? Stretching? Lil' exercise? Rest? Listen to your body and what it needs. It knows best. Honor it.

I hope these self-care tips help you stay healthy (and sane) during the holidays and finals. Namaste.