Norton Shores Michigan Chiropractor

Christmas and New Year's are just around the corner.  Although this time of year is fun and exciting for a number of reasons, it can also be a time maligned with sickness and injury if you are not careful.  Follow these tips and you are sure to have a healthier and more enjoyable holiday season!

1.  Slow down!

If you are traveling for the holidays, do yourself and everyone a favor: pick a speed, pick a lane, and go with the flow.  If you live in Michigan, you know that a storm is coming.   Bad weather + impatient drivers = tragedy.  Aunt Flo will understand if you are a little late.

2.  Get up and stretch

After Christmas and New Year's, there is one more season to round out the trifecta:  Bowl Season!  However, sitting on a couch for 13 hours straight can leave your back a complete mess!  Get up every 20-30 minutes to negate the effects of prolonged sitting.  A little movement goes a long way.

3.  Know when to say "when"

If you are driving, don't drink.  If you are drinking, don't drive.  Call a cab.  End of discussion.

4.  Let it go

If you have lingering family issues, Christmas dinner is NOT the time.  Ruining everyone's Christmas because you're still ticked that your brother stole your girlfriend in high school is not healthy.  A Christmas Day brawl may land you in the ER.  Talk to a professional to get those issues resolved in a proper environment.

5.  Be prepared

If you are traveling, make sure you have enough food, water and blankets in your car in case you get stranded.  If there is a blizzard coming, make sure you are set up to survive days without power.  You don't have to go all "Doomsday Preppers" on the situation but you should also not get caught with your pants down when Old Man Winter rolls up his sleeves and does his thing.

6.  Build up your reserves

Unfortunately, the Christmas season is also cold and flu season.  While you certainly can't totally avoid all the viruses in your environment, you CAN bolster your defenses so you can fight them off.  Get plenty of sleep.  Eat good food.  Try not to stress out.  Take a probiotic.  Exercise.  Get your spine adjusted.  Make your body as healthy as you possibly can to keep your immune system running optimally.  Hint: you can just do this all year round, but what a great time to start!

7.  Don't sweat the small stuff

It is not the end of the world if your candles don't perfectly match the centerpiece.  No one is going to remember 15 years from now that your house was not meticulously cleaned prior to Christmas dinner.  They WILL remember that you screamed at your kids for every little thing because of the sleep deprivation caused by cleaning your house at 3 A.M. the morning before Christmas.   I'm pretty sure Mary wasn't freaking out because baby Jesus' blanket had a spot on it.  Keep things in perspective.

8.  Enjoy the presence; not just the presents

Enough said on that one.

Have a happy and safe holiday season, everybody!

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Dr. Jared Plemon BS, DC is a doctor of chiropractic at Zehr Chiropractic in Norton Shores, Michigan.  He specializes in the treatment of neck pain, back pain, and extremity pain utilizing cutting edge, non-manipulative chiropractic techniques.  He blogs about nutrition, exercise, and how chiropractic care fits in with the overall health landscape.  He lives in West Michigan with his wife and two children.