This is normal: 10 good reasons not to love New Year
It is believed that the holidays (especially the New Year) should certainly give us happiness and joy. But the key word here is “must” - after all, they are far from always cheerful and carefree. The reasons can be very different - from a negative event, preceding the New Year's night, to unobvious triggers, which we think about last or not at all. So if you, like Grinch from the Ron Howard movie-fairytale, can't stand the holiday associated with the smell of Christmas trees and tangerines, a man in a red and white suit and gifts in bright packages, then everything is fine - we found at least ten reasons giving to this full right.
Text: Marina Levicheva
Allergy for the New Year
Despite the fact that the mold feels much better in the bathroom and in the kitchen, it can also grow in cabinets and closets that are not subjected to such thorough cleaning as the rest of the apartment. When we get Christmas tree toys from the farthest shelves, the snugly arranged mold begins its work. Namely - causes people with allergies to cough, sneeze, itching and tears.
The smell can also be spoiled by the New Year's mood - in particular, air fresheners with fir aroma, which are often used to give an artificial Christmas tree "naturalness", or candles with the smell of apple pie with cinnamon. All these products, according to immunologists, release volatile organic compounds into the air, which cause difficulty breathing, headache and worsening asthma symptoms.
An allergy to the environment, be it pollen, dust or mold - the reason to treat the Christmas tree with caution. In the case of a real tree, it can be pine cones pollen, mold in the bark or a resinous smell too active, and in the case of artificial wood, exposure to lead contained in polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which even in moderate amounts can be hazardous to health.
Family values
Celebrating New Year with your family is a tradition that many people follow. But together with the joy of meeting with close people whom we have not seen for a long time, family feasts can bring trouble associated with additional stress. And he, as you know, has physical symptoms.
If a meeting with relatives makes you nervous, a state of “high alert” can be accompanied by a surge in pressure, fever or chills, and even nausea. Here we should not forget about the aspect of psychological regression, which suggests that, returning to the parental home, we return to our fourteen years - and this time was filled with pleasant memories and sensations far from all.
If you have increased anxiety, but you can’t or don’t want to refuse a family holiday, you can use a simple technique to calm you down. Think about the fact that mental problems can be family-like — that is, in this room, it is likely that someone else feels just like you. And breathe deeply - it really helps.
Crazy shopping
New Year's Eve shopping can be even more destructive than shopping on “Black Friday”. And despite the fact that the number of his healthy bonuses includes a good mood, a decrease in the level of stress and even a longer (and, I hope, more happy) life, it is important to understand that it hasn’t been without its minuses.
In addition to the headache caused by bright aromas, noise and a long shopping list, New Year's Eve shopping pampers us with attractive discounts. And, as a result, very heavy bags. Even if you go to the mall by car, in any case you will have to get packages to the parking lot. The shoulder joints and the spine are in the risk zone. In addition, active shopping (read: shopping marathon) leads to a surge in blood pressure to a dangerous level in almost half of the buyers. And along with this - to problems with the heart and blood vessels, widely known in narrow medical circles as the "happy new year heart attack".
Finally, like any crowd of people (especially in winter), the crowd in the supermarket becomes an ideal place for the spread of influenza and ARVI. And considering how many microbes are hidden on the handrails of escalators, ATM buttons and touch screens on the food court, there are some other infections too. Can online shopping be a way out? It is possible, just try not to do it at night, so as not to disturb the sleep patterns and not harm yourself in a hundred more ways. And also, if you are advocating for the environment, choose standard, not express delivery.
New Year's music
Advertising one famous soda has long been a marker of the New Year, as well as a music track from it. But not all music is equally good, and New Year's is no exception. Experts say that these magical melodies, if they appear in our lives too early, only increase the tension associated with the coming physical and emotional stress.
Such music, among other things, makes us spend more, which can also seriously upset us when the bells finally die down and you find the loss of several thousand from your wallet. Plus, sensory "overdose" does not allow to concentrate, which is also important to keep in mind if in December you went to the store for milk and bread, and not for gifts at all.
Endless traffic jams
If in the pre-New Year period there is a thing longer than the queues at the cash registers of supermarkets, then this, of course, traffic jams. In addition to increasing blood pressure (in direct proportion to the increasing level of anger), they pollute the air, which affects our health more strongly than previously thought. An experiment conducted at Duke University made it possible to say that people in traffic jams get a "double blow" in terms of their impact on health; but it has now become clear that exhaust gases affect not only drivers, but also those who live near roads and intersections where cars often accumulate.
Environmental issues
Laboratory burgers, worms instead of fettuccine and super nutritional spider milk - all of these scientists are engaged in for a reason. The need to find alternatives associated with uncontrolled consumption, the higher the higher the existing risks. And the risks are impressive in their scope today.
The new year is a small ecological disaster, scientists say. So, on New Year's holidays, we consume two or even three times more food, so we leave behind more waste. And we use kilometers of wrapping paper, in the production of just one kilogram of which 3.5 kilograms of carbon are emitted into the air, as found in Greenpeace.
Dangerous fireworks
If someone launches a firework himself, then the main danger for him is the risk of getting burns. But what about the viewers? It turns out that fireworks are not so safe in the sense of their effect on the respiratory system, so it’s better not to be in the epicenter, however beautiful it may be. For example, at the expense of those responsible for the colors and effects of metal particles, fireworks increase the symptoms in people with asthma — and also reduce lung function and increase the risk of pneumonia in completely healthy people.
Another fireworks issue that is little talked about is sodium perchlorate, which provides an explosive reaction. Although this substance is effectively excreted in the urine when it enters the body, in large quantities it is absorbed by the tissues of the thyroid gland. This, in turn, reduces the absorption of iodine, which is necessary for an adequate synthesis of thyroid hormones, and the overall performance of the organ. Of course, if your profession is not connected with fireworks, you are not exposed to such a large-scale risk, but caution still does not hurt.
Financial crisis
Financial losses, especially when we shop under the influence of the atmosphere, music, or the smile of the person behind the counter (underline), have a negative effect on our health. The need to spend more than we can afford, often associated with debts (at least by credit card). And debts - with a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness, problems with sleep, appetite and mood, loss of concentration and thirst for life. Starting with the usual stress, all this can result in serious problems with the digestive system and debilitating headaches, with the prospect of cardiovascular diseases.
Food by the rules and without
The abundance of delicious, fragrant and not at all healthy dishes unknowingly makes us eat more. More. As much as possible. Overeating can result in metabolic and digestive disorders, increased cholesterol and blood sugar, slower brain function and increased acidity. Simply put, there is little pleasant.
The most likely cause of what is happening is pre-holiday stress, which blocks the ability to make an informed choice and does not ask, but requires sweet, fatty and salty foods to block the jumped level of cortisol. To cope with this, by the way, you can use the usual visualization: do not eat, but imagine the process. It sounds weird, but it's worth a try.
Relationship with the return
The seasonality of relationships is not a completely scientific phenomenon, but very curious. For example, "summer fling" is called a short relationship without special obligations that people start in the summer to make the season even brighter, and they definitely end up in the fall. It turns out not quite resort romance, but something like. We, however, in a given context are more interested in "marling" - the pre-Christmas appearance on the threshold of the former, eager for reunification.
If January (obviously, in connection with New Year's promises to start a new life) is considered a month of divorces, then December should be called a month of returning to the past. Experts think that the phenomenon named after the character of the “Christmas song” by Charles Dickens is associated with the fear of loneliness and a bit with nostalgia. But one should not go on about their emotions: in the morning of the first of January, the idea may no longer seem so good.
Photo: Dan Kosmayer - stock.adobe.com, Elena - stock.adobe.com, romanslavik.com - stock.adobe.com, Andrzej Tokarski - stock.adobe.com
