The holiday season can disrupt normal health routines. Travel, family gatherings and long to-do lists change plans and make it hard to keep healthy habits. Samantha Harden is an associate professor at Virginia Tech who studies how people sustain well-being. She says expecting to be your "best self" when you have free time often makes the problem worse.
Harden recommends realistic ways to fit wellness into holiday routines. Ideas include habit stacking (for example, add a short walk after dinner), gamifying activities with simple challenges, involving other people for support, and travel tips such as moving, staying hydrated, and allowing extra time. She also describes six parts of well-being and says it is okay to shift attention during holidays; a break from some routines is not failure.
Difficult words
- disrupt — cause a usual plan to stop or change
- sustain — keep something going over time
- well-being — health and happiness of a person
- habit stacking — add one small habit after another
- gamify — make an activity feel like a gamegamifying
- involve — include someone or make them take partinvolving
- hydrated — have enough water in the body
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Which of the suggested ideas would you try during a holiday and why?
- How can you involve other people to support your wellness plans?
- Do you agree that a break from some routines is not a failure? Why or why not?
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