Finally, after months of strenuous job activities like business, non-stop work, school and busy family schedules, we get to have few weeks off to take a break, rest and relax during the holiday season. This period offers us plenty of time to sleep, relax and idle away the time chatting and napping.
Interestingly, despite the fact that it is a period with ample time for rest, we are easily swayed into situations where the rest and sleep are displaced by other competing merry-making activities. If you have experienced or have a tendency towards this setting of merry-making trade-off of sleep, you should get pumped up for this write-up. I will share some information with you to justify the concern and propose ways out of the slippery trap.
The holiday is a day or an extended period of leisure and recreation set aside by custom or by law on which job activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. The concept of holidays originated in connection with religious observances or associated with traditions. Little wonder about the discovery that the word ‘holiday’ comes from the Old English words “holy” + “day”. The word originally referred to special religious days. Generally, the intention of a holiday was typically to allow individuals to celebrate or remember an event or tradition of cultural or religious significance.
The degree to which the job activities are reduced and the celebration is filled with merry-making by a holiday may depend on what is being celebrated, local laws, customs, the type of job held or personal choices.
In modern societies, this time is usually set aside for rest from the tiring activities period to get re-energized for the next job period.
For a lot of us, holidays and stress seem to go hand in hand. The holidays also equal lots of responsibilities and obligations that make it difficult to keep good-for-us healthy habits. The commitments are usually an over-packed schedule of shopping, cooking, back-to-back parties, recreational outings, family gatherings and dinners, times with friends, travels, festive meetings and events. Any or all of the holiday activities come with a hit on the three pillars of health – healthy eating, exercise and sleep. We eat too much or consume unhealthy stuff, we abandon our exercise program and our sleep patterns are disturbed with sleep hours stolen and packed into our responsibilities.
To achieve the set-goal of recharging for the next work period, it is worth investing in easily-sacrificed healthy practices. Perhaps the most important is sleep. Sleep is one of the most common and important human activities. Sleep allows human bodies to rest, heal and develop physically and mentally. It is a powerful regulator of emotions and can help memory processing and preservation. Impressively, sleep also increases the outer beauty look with radiance. Lack of sleep or poor sleep can have multiple negative effects on the human body and mind.
Luckily, the behaviours and choices that help you get enough hours of sleep as well as a good quality sleep concurrently take care of other equally sacrificed healthy habits like exercise and healthy eating. Adopting “good sleep habits” is one of the best stress management techniques to keep us from entering the spiral of exhaustion created by lack of sleep and other holiday stresses.
Considering the info shared and points raised so far, and as you imagine the options for seasonal gifts, it is time to re-evaluate your choices and give yourself and others around you sleep as a holiday gift! It is a healthy gift that has pleasant and lasting effects! Indeed, this could be the best gift of all! Easy to say, but not that easy to do.
With all the choking holiday activities, how can you make good sleep as easy as possible to achieve — and also make up your “sleep debt” if a bad night’s sleep (or two, or three) happens?
In our next article, we would share some simple and concrete tips for sleeping well while enjoying the holidays. Vitafoam® wishes you lots of sleep this holiday!
Let us remember that when you sleep, where you sleep and how you sleep affect your mental health, physical well-being and living a healthy life. We all need quality sleep to be set for productivity in our endeavours.
Do you need further information on the above subject? Are you looking for ways to maintain quality sleep for general well-being and healthy living? Remember, a doctor is an appropriate person to offer relevant advice for the maintenance of quality sleep and solution to sleep difficulties. Do you want to contact the Orthopaedic Sleep Consultant, Dr Charles Uzodimma, kindly send your request to [email protected] OR Whatsapp 08129982143.
Vitafoam Nigeria Plc is the first foam manufacturing company in Nigeria to partner with a Sleep Expert in educating Nigerians on Quality Sleep for Healthy Living. They are truly passionate about quality sleep, healthy living and the general well-being of Nigerians. Vitafoam is proudly Nigerian and constantly supports Nigerians with consistent quality products for comfort and well-being. With Vitafoam, you don’t just sleep, they give you the comfort that gets you recharged. To learn more about Vitafoam, visit www.vitafoamng.com
