Logo for Everyday ScienceExperts at the University of Windsor help guide you to a merry and bright holiday season.

Experts provide guidance to happy and healthy holidays

The holiday season is a time of celebration.

But the winter festivities often include epic feasts, liberal libations, and tense times with the ones we love.

We talked to a number of experts at the University of Windsor to help guide you to a merry and bright holiday season.

Sarah Woodruff, associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology, said numerous holiday parties makes it easy to overindulge.

“You want to make sure that you’ve got something in your stomach before you go to these parties,” Dr. Woodruff said.

“Don’t skip a meal in order to overindulge later.”

Carlin Miller, associate professor in the Department of Psychology, said many different factors make the holidays particularly stressful.

“Many of us struggle with mental health issues year-round,” Dr. Miller explained. “Things get more stressful this time of year as the days get shorter, the nights get longer and so it’s harder to find those happy moments.”

Both Miller and Woodruff recommend exercising throughout the holidays to help combat calories and fend off the winter blues.

“Perhaps most importantly for a generation that is very tech-focused is walking away from social media,” Miller said.

“Remembering that the world is to be lived in, not observed through the lens of social media.”

Everyday Science is a new feature that will have UWindsor experts explain common occurrences, events, and phenomena.

—Dylan Kristy