How To Deal With Christmas Stress

Christmas is just under a month away. And Christmas stress is about to officially start, according to Greenwich University, London. The first Saturday in December is when happy anticipation is overtaken by feelings of tension about what's left to do. Shopping causes the most stress as we work against a budget and a deadline to find perfect presents. It raises our heart rates, shuts down our digestive systems and leaves us physically and mentally exhausted.

Christmas Stress management advice

• Do all your present shopping on one day. It focuses the mind. Shop via the internet to avoid crowds, queues and parking problems.

• If you do go to the shops, don't stop for coffee. Caffeine makes the body release cortisol, the stress hormone, which leaves you feeling tense. Instead take a bottle of water with you.

• When you are in a queue, breath in for four counts, hold it for 16 counts, then breath out for eight counts. This will boost levels of serotonin in your brain.

The Stress Management Society has a free guide to managing stress at Christmas, available through its website www.stress.org.uk