Struggling With Post-Holiday Exhaustion? Here Are Some Ways To Perk Yourself—And Your Skin—Up

There’s no denying that the holidays can be a happy, joyful, and all-around amazing time of year.

But let’s be real. For many of us, the holidays can also feel hectic, stressful, and totally overwhelming—and that was especially true in 2020, when we were forced to navigate a holiday season fraught with challenges we had never dealt with before.

And now that the holidays are behind us, many of us are feeling completely and utterly exhausted—which is not exactly a great way to kick off a new year.

Sound familiar? If you’re finding yourself feeling totally spent, depleted, and exhausted after the 2020 holiday season, here are a few ways to get back on track and perk yourself up following all of the holiday craziness:

Improve your sleep hygiene

When you’re dealing with holiday stress, chances are, you’re not getting the kind of high-quality shut eye you need to feel your best. So, if you want to get rid of that post-holiday exhausting—and start feeling better, brighter, and more energetic—focus on getting more (and better quality) sleep is a great place to start.

There are a variety of strategies you can use to improve the duration and quality of your sleep, including:

• Go to bed at the same time every night. You might think that having a strict bedtime should be reserved to humans under the age of 10—but, as it turns out, it could be the key to getting better sleep. A recent study found that people with a regular sleep schedule have an easier time falling asleep and get more sleep throughout the night than people with an irregular sleep schedule—and that a regular sleep schedule can improve performance and focus during waking hours. So, not only will a regular sleep schedule help you get better shut eye, it will help you perform at a higher level while you’re awake.

• Turn off your phone. If you’re the kind of person who scrolls through social media until the second your head hits the pillow at night, you may want to rethink your nighttime phone habit. Screens (like the screen on your phone) emit a blue light that inhibits your brain’s ability to produce melatonin, the hormone that helps you fall asleep. If you want to avoid any screen-related sleep issues, switch off your phone an hour or two before bedtime.

• Work up a sweat. Exercise supports your health in a variety of ways—including sleep health. Exercise has been shown to help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and get better quality sleep overall. For the most sleep-boosting benefits, aim for 20 minutes of aerobic exercise (like running, cycling, or brisk walking) every day.

Getting more high-quality sleep is a gamechanger for dealing with post-holiday exhausting. And as an added bonus? If that exhaustion is showing up in your complexion, improving your sleep hygiene can also have a dramatic impact on your skin, giving it the time it needs to recharge, replenish, and repair itself each night.

Make yourself a priority

The holidays can be a lot to deal with. Between shopping for gifts, attending holiday parties and get-togethers (which, in 2020, mostly took place over Zoom—which is exhausting in its own right), upholding family traditions, and the other 10,000 holiday to-do’s you likely had to check off your list, it’s easy for self care to fall to the bottom of your priority list.

But now that the holidays are over, it’s time to move yourself back to the top of that list—and make sure you’re carving out plenty of time for self care.

Taking the time to take care of yourself—whether that’s incorporating a yoga flow into your lunch break, going for a quiet walk outside, or relaxing with a bubble bath and face mask—can work wonders for dealing with post-holiday exhaustion. When you make yourself a priority, you’re carving out time to give yourself the care, attention, and nurturing you need to feel your best—which can completely recharge your batteries, replenish your energy, and put those feelings of holiday exhaustion, stress, and overwhelm squarely in the rearview mirror.

Get outside

For many, all that post-holiday exhaustion can leave you feeling cranky, moody, and irritable.

And if you’re one of those people, one of the best things you can do to perk yourself up for the new year?

Get outside.

Now, we get it—the winter season isn’t always the best time to head outside. But no matter how cold, snowy, or dreary it is, you can get outside for at least a few minutes every day—and, as it turns out, a few minutes is all you need to start feeling better. A 2019 study found that spending just five minutes in nature can improve mood and increase positive emotions.

So, if you find your post-holiday exhaustion is putting a serious damper on your mood, make a commitment to get yourself outside for a quick walk every day—even if you have to bundle up against the cold. (And don’t forget to layer on the SPF! Even if getting in nature makes you feel better, dealing with harmful UVA and UVB rays isn’t going to make your skin feel any better.)

Fight post-holiday exhaustion and get back on track with these tips

When it comes to post-holiday exhaustion, the struggle can be real. But with these tips, you have everything you need to ditch all those feelings of stress, exhaustion, and overwhelm that are still lingering from the holiday season—and get back to feeling like your most focused, positive, and energized self for the upcoming year. So what are you waiting for? Get out there, fight that post-holiday exhaustion, and make 2021 your best year yet!