AMS Top Tips this Festive Season

As the great Andy Williams put it…. “It’s the most wonderful time of the year”.

There are parties to attend, family get togethers and so much fun to be had.  Then of course there is the hangover, the stress of Christmas, the ‘oh what did I do last night?’……
There is so much expectation at this time of year, to splash out on everyone and look and feel your best.  There’s that office party where some just want fun, some want to outdo others and some just want to get so obliterated that they do not even remember what they did….  What ever one you are, remember this time of year stretches both our physical and mental health to the limit.
I’m not going to say don’t eat that mince pie or overindulge this Christmas instead just a gentle reminder that with the festive brings the highest risk for heart attacks.  A very renowned Menswear once declared to my husband he had a medical condition that many men up and down the country suffered from “An overactive knife and fork”.

Yes, overindulging can cause, not only our dress or trouser size to go up, but also our blood sugar.   Overindulging can cause our blood pressure to rise as the body works harder to pump blood around our body.
I always try to make my healthy eating talks simple:

Think, Salt, Sugar and Saturated Fats….
We know what overindulging in food can do, but what about Alcohol or worse still drugs.   Alcohol and drugs take away our inhibitions.  We are on top of the world.  We know everything, we have done everything.
Do you recognise a colleague yet… or do you recognise yourself?
Let’s be honest at this time of year, we try to be at our best, gorgeous and unstoppable then again, there are the ones who are arrogant, argumentative and just looking to have a go at someone, who, let’s be honest has got on their nerves all year round but a few drinks or a few too many drinks will relax the nerves and hey why not go for it and give them both barrels.
We all want the office party to go with a bang but before you stick on that Christmas outfit and head off for a night on the town, remember mixing alcohol or drugs, co workers and holiday stress can be a volatile mix and it might be more than the halls you deck this Christmas.

• Have something to eat before you go and especially before that first tipple!
• Be mindful of others, too much alcohol can loosen the tongue and open up that one can of worms that just wont go away.
• Remember this is the office party – but steer clear of office gossip.
• Dress for the occasion but remember ladies as Dean Martin once sang…. Baby it’s cold outside.
• Know when to call time and head for home.
• Above all, be safe and don’t do something that you will regret the next day!

From Roseanne Savage,

Managing Director & Occupational Health Specialist RGN