Holiday Stress Relief: How Chiropractic Care Keeps You Calm and Balanced

Hello! Dr. Jose Luis Zamora here, your friendly neighborhood chiropractor. The holiday season is upon us. One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is getting together with my family and making delicious tamales together. While the holidays are a time for joy and celebration, they often come with stress. From shopping and hosting to traveling and preparing delicious meals, or sometimes dealing with stressful family members, the holiday rush can leave many feeling overwhelmed. Stress can also take a toll on your body, causing tension, headaches, back pain, and sleep issues. Chiropractic care offers a natural and effective way to manage holiday stress by supporting both your physical and mental health.

Here’s how chiropractic care can help you reduce stress and enjoy a more relaxed holiday season.

1. Relieves Physical Tension and Pain

Stress often leads to physical tension, especially in the neck, shoulders, and back. This tension can result from long hours of standing, poor posture, or the emotional strain of holiday preparations. According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), the parasympathetic nervous system, the part in charge of rest and digest, also regulates the upper cervical (neck) region, so an adjustment of the neck results in a parasympathetic response, which includes: lowering of heart beat and reduction of blood pressure among other health benefits allowing you to have a less stressful response to the seasonal holiday external stimuli (Kiani et al., 2020).

2. Boosts Mood and Mental Clarity

Physical stress can often affect your mental well-being, leading to feelings of anxiety, irritability, or brain fog. But did you know that chiropractic care can also help you with this?

Multiple studies conducted around the world and published in prestigious journals, such as the International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine, have found that chiropractic adjustments are effective in improving headaches caused by tension as well as depression (Kiani et al., 2020; Espi-Lopez et al., 2016). With clearer thinking and a more positive outlook, you’ll be better equipped to handle the holiday rush.

Italian medical researchers (Kiani et al., 2020) decided to test the chiropractic capacity to affect mood, more specifically, major depression and found that “depression seems to be correlated with pain probably because of their common neurological pathways. In fact, 50-65% of patients with chronic pain are also diagnosed with depression. For instance, autonomic dysfunction is linked to tension-type headache (TTH) and depression. Spinal adjustments for TTH stimulate a parasympathetic response and improve TTH and associated mental disorders like depression. Another study (Espi-Lopez et al., 2016) recruited TTH patients and tested the benefits of manual adjustment on depression and anxiety. The results confirmed that vertebral manipulative techniques were very effective in improving TTH and depression.

3. Improves Sleep Quality

Sleep is essential for managing stress, but during the holidays, sleep is often disrupted by late-night preparations, travel, or physical discomfort. Chiropractic care can help improve sleep by reducing pain and tension, allowing you to rest more comfortably. By aligning the spine and promoting relaxation, chiropractic adjustments help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.

With better sleep, you’ll wake up feeling refreshed and ready to tackle holiday tasks with more energy and less stress.

4. Supports Immune Health

The added stress of the holiday season can weaken your immune system, making you more susceptible to illness. Chiropractic care helps strengthen your immune response by improving the communication between the brain and the body. After all, it is not the strength of the pathogen that matters, but the strength of the host defenses that decides the outcome. A properly functioning nervous system allows your body to fight off germs more effectively, helping you stay healthy during the colder months and through holiday gatherings.

5. Encourages Self-Care During the Holidays

Amid the busyness of the holiday season, it’s easy to forget about self-care. Chiropractic care encourages you to take time for yourself, promoting both physical and mental well-being. Regular chiropractic adjustments not only help alleviate pain and stress but also remind you to prioritize your health during this busy time.

Taking time for self-care can prevent holiday burnout and help you enjoy the season with less stress and more balance.

Chiropractic Tips for Reducing Holiday Stress

In addition to chiropractic adjustments, here are some tips to help manage stress throughout the holidays:

• Maintain Good Posture: Whether you’re cooking, shopping, or traveling, maintaining proper posture can reduce strain on your spine.
• Stretch Regularly: Simple stretches can release muscle tension and improve circulation. Focus on your neck, shoulders, and lower back.
• Stay Hydrated: Drinking plenty of water helps your body function optimally and can reduce muscle cramps and tension.
• Stay Active: Light physical activity, like walking or yoga, helps relieve stress and keeps your body moving.

Final Thoughts

Chiropractic care offers a natural solution to help manage the stress of the holiday season. By reducing physical tension, improving nervous system function, and supporting overall well-being, chiropractic adjustments can help you enjoy the holidays without the burden of stress.

To make the most of your holiday season, consider visiting Zamora Chiropractic for a chiropractic adjustment. With less stress and better health, you’ll be ready to fully enjoy the festivities and time spent with loved ones!

Espí-López, G. V., Lopez-Bueno, L., Vicente-Herrera, M. T., Martinez-Arnau, F. M., & Monzani, L. (2016, June 8). Efficacy of manual therapy on anxiety and depression in patients with tension-type headache. A randomized controlled clinical trial. International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S174606891630030X 

Kiani, A. K., Maltese, P. E., Dautaj, A., Paolacci, S., Kurti, D., Picotti, P. M., & Bertelli, M. (2020, November 9). Neurobiological basis of chiropractic manipulative treatment of the spine in the care of major depression. Acta bio-medica : Atenei Parmensis. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8023121/#ref18