Don't Let the Holiday Period Break Your Wellness Habits

The holiday season will test your routines more than any other time of year.

Travel plans, social obligations, family gatherings, work deadlines piling up before the break. Everyone's schedule gets disrupted, and the first thing people abandon is the structure that keeps them functioning well.

I've learned that maintaining even a simplified version of your wellness habits matters more during chaos than during normal weeks. Your body doesn't stop needing sleep, movement, and proper nutrition just because your calendar is packed.

You don't need to execute everything perfectly. That may not be realistic when you're managing multiple commitments. But completely abandoning your routine creates a deficit that takes weeks to recover from in January. Hence, the reason for the annual gym migration.

I keep three things non-negotiable regardless of what's happening: morning sunlight exposure, some form of movement each day, and protecting my sleep schedule as much as possible. Everything else can flex, but those three anchor me.

The holiday period doesn't have to derail months of progress. You just need to identify which habits actually move the needle and protect those while letting the rest adapt to circumstances. This strategy will help you maintain consistency during disrupted periods without adding stress to an already packed schedule.