Finish the year off rested

With Thanksgiving around the corner, this is the time of year when wellness influencers start encouraging us to “finish the year off strong”. This mentality does more harm to your health than good.

 I think everyone can agree, especially women, especially mothers, that the holidays are stressful. Somewhere along the line they got really stressful. (I think Elf on the Shelf has a lot to answer for here). The mental load we're carrying most of the year - the invisible work of planning, organizing, arranging, calendaring, making sure everything keeps running, stays afloat, doesn't fall apart, skyrockets mid-November.

 And until the entire patriarchy is overturned and every single one of us fully unlearns that it's not our job by default be everyone else's memory, caregiver, secretary, time keeper, date keeper, happiness maker, and overthinker - considered a fault even though we are are quite justifiably making up for everyone else's underthinking - the last 6 weeks of the year will continue to be a marathon at the pace of a sprint.

On top of that, the days are shorter, colder and darker. SAD is very real. Vitamin D levels lower, fatigue sets in, and immune systems are compromised.

Your body is less resourced than normal and you've got more on our plate than ever before.

The last thing your body and your nervous system needs is a rigid schedule or to be pushed past your capacity.

We talk a lot about seasonal living when it comes to fresh fruits and vegetables. This same concept applies to our bodies. After generations upon generations of living according to the rhythms of the sun and the earth, right up until the Industrial Revolution, our bodies have evolved to expect things to slow down come winter. We may not want to be living off the land or going to bed at sundown, but we can stop pushing so hard during a season of rest.

What does that look like? Prioritize rest by making space for it.

Move in a way that feels good. This is not the time to force strenuous workouts if you're feeling exhausted, but using movement as a way to take a break and get more energy. Walking is highly underrated and so good for you.

Walking also helps you get outside. Anytime is great, but morning light is especially beneficial because it helps with your circadian rhythm, helping you feel awake during the day and get better sleep night. You don't need sunshine to reap those benefits, you just need to go outside without sunglasses.

Hire a teenager to wrap all your gifts. This sounds small and highly specific but outsourcing this task has been a huge stress reliever for me. I used to love wrapping gifts, but this is one of those activities that doesn't mesh well with chronic pain (not to mention the incredible waste of precious time).

 In fact, outsource everything. When friends and family offer to help with something, let them. Even small things make a big difference - maybe a nanny isn't in cards right now, but what about hiring a babysitter once a week so you can get a couple hours to yourself? Or, what needs to get done around the house that you don't have time for? You can find a TaskRabbit for basically anything - get creative. Let go of the idea that you need to do everything.

Ease up on the "what to eat at all the parties" anxiety. I'll save this subject in full for another email because I have a lot of good tips to share, but here's the spoiler alert: the stress about whether or not to eat the cookie is probably worse for you than eating the cookie.

 If you truly want to end the year on a high note, tend to your nervous system and rest.