STATE of grace

CELEBRATE SENSIBLY AND THINK YOURSELF HAPPY

Eating well and drinking less alcohol over this hectic time of year has the added benefit of helping you to feel well, which makes it easier to get through the madness that the Christmas season can bring.

Certain foods can help to banish that feeling of being overwhelmed by reducing levels of stress hormones in the body while increasing feel-good hormones. The best foods to eat are:

• WALNUTS, ALMONDS, SALMON, TUNA and other foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids.

• DARK CHOCOLATE (but don’t overdo it).

• TURKEY

• FRUIT AND VEGETABLES, especially those rich in vitamin C, such as citrus fruits, red peppers and spinach. When it comes to drinks, you can’t go past plenty of water to increase your sense of wellbeing.

Tea is good as it can lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol – which is why people always offer you a cup of tea if you’re upset – and milk may also be able to combat stress. That’s because it contains the protein lactium, which helps to lower blood pressure, and potassium, a muscle relaxant.

It’s wise to take it easy when it comes to alcohol. It may have a relaxing and sedative effect to start with, but you can build up tolerance to that and you’ll find yourself needing to drink more and more alcohol to achieve the same feeling. This is because alcohol causes higher amounts of the stress hormone cortisol to be released into your system, altering the brain’s chemistry and resetting what the body considers to be “normal”.

The effect that booze has on hormones in the body changes the way you respond to stress and can result in you drinking even more, which can have all kinds of health repercussions.

Learning to meditate is a very effective way of dealing with stress. Spending just 10 minutes a day in a quiet place practising stilling your mind can have enormous benefits. It puts your body in a deep state of relaxation – the opposite to the “fight or flight” response triggered by stress – and helps balance out those hormones that cause us to feel panicky and overwhelmed by increasing levels of happy hormones such as serotonin and dopamine.

Meditation can help to lower blood pressure, enhance mood and improve sleep.

Getting adequate sleep is

also crucial when it comes to dealing with stress. You’ll be better able to cope with everything going on at this time of year if you’ve had at least seven hours of shut-eye. Go to bed at a decent time, make sure your room is not too hot, and make it as dark as possible.

Don’t watch TV or look at devices for at least half an hour before going to bed. They can make it harder for your brain to relax, and the light they emit can confuse your body clock and trick it into thinking it’s not bedtime.

If you can’t switch off your mind when you go to bed, learn relaxation techniques to help you drop off.