{"id":106489,"date":"2024-12-05T14:34:35","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T14:34:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/?post_type=news&#038;p=106489"},"modified":"2024-12-05T14:34:35","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T14:34:35","slug":"alone-time-helps-reduce-holiday-stress","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/alone-time-helps-reduce-holiday-stress\/","title":{"rendered":"Alone Time Helps Reduce Holiday Stress"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Summary:\u00a0<\/strong>46% of Americans don\u2019t get enough alone time during the holiday season, even though 56% say it\u2019s crucial for their mental health. Taking brief moments alone can help the nervous system settle, reducing stress and improving well-being during this busy time.<\/p>\n<p>Experts suggest simple strategies, like leaving your phone in another room or pausing in your car for a few minutes, to recharge. Prioritizing alone time, even in small doses, can make the holidays more enjoyable without sacrificing social connections.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Key Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>46% of Americans report lacking alone time during the holidays.<\/li>\n<li>56% say alone time is essential for their mental health.<\/li>\n<li>Brief breaks alone help reduce stress and support mental and physical health.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Source:\u00a0<\/strong>Ohio State University<\/p>\n<p><strong>Some say the holidays are the most wonderful time of the year. But for others, the hectic holiday season may be the most stressful.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A new national survey of 1,000 Americans commissioned by\u00a0The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center\u00a0and\u00a0College of Medicine\u00a0shows that 46% of Americans say they don\u2019t get the alone time they need during the holidays.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, 56% of survey respondents say that it\u2019s very important to their mental health to have adequate alone time.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie Lazarus, PhD, a clinical psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Ohio State, says in a world that glorifies staying busy, taking a brief break alone can be rewarding both mentally and physically.<\/p>\n<p>A few minutes to yourself can reduce the stress of the season and help your mental health, she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy taking a brief pause alone, our nervous system can settle, our mind can settle, our body can settle. And I think that can be important. We know that chronic stress is not good for us,\u201d said Lazarus.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s important to make yourself a priority, and this can be accomplished by adding something simple to your routine that doesn\u2019t require a large chunk of time or effort, Lazarus said.<\/p>\n<p>Lazarus, who focuses on mindfulness-based interventions,\u00a0mood and anxiety disorders, has a few suggestions to help stressed out people stay present throughout the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTry putting your phone in a totally different room when you decide you\u2019re going to spend alone time, knowing how hard it is to resist picking it up, the pulls on our attention and on our priorities,\u201d Lazarus said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOr take two or three minutes in the car before you go pick your kids up or before you go back into the house after work to just be alone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lazarus says to take what works best for you into consideration when making these changes to your routine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne size doesn\u2019t fit everyone. Being flexible and finding a balance is best,\u201d Lazarus said.<\/p>\n<p>Lazarus reminds patients it\u2019s okay to take alone time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s important to remember that just because you\u2019re prioritizing yourself at this moment doesn\u2019t mean that you\u2019re selfish and doesn\u2019t mean that you always make the choice to prioritize yourself over others,\u201d Lazarus said.<\/p>\n<p>Alone time doesn\u2019t have to be solo, either.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome people might experience alone time from going to a movie by themselves or going to a park where there\u2019s a lot of people, or going to a coffee shop,\u201d Lazarus said. \u201cIt can also be this absence of having to perform or interact socially in a more direct way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><a href=\"http:\/\/stress.org\">\u00a0For more information about stress and related issues go to stress.org<\/a><\/h4>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">About this psychology research news<\/h2>\n<p class=\"has-background\"><strong>Author:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.osu.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ben Roselieb<\/a><br \/>\n<strong>Source:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.osu.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ohio State University<\/a><br \/>\n<strong>Contact:\u00a0<\/strong>Ben Roselieb \u2013 Ohio State University<br \/>\n<strong>Image:\u00a0<\/strong>The image is credited to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/woman-reading-near-the-fireplace-7041729\/\">Photo by Yaroslav Shuraev<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summary:\u00a046% of Americans don\u2019t get enough alone time during the holiday season, even though 56% say it\u2019s crucial for their mental health. Taking brief moments alone can help the nervous [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"pmpro_default_level":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false},"categories":[12,178,139,142,687,228,159,688,166],"tags":[136,137,276,143,145,155,120,147,175,165],"class_list":["post-106489","news","type-news","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adult-stress","category-burnout","category-daily-life-blog","category-health","category-holiday-stress","category-social-life-stress","category-stress-in-your-body","category-stress-tools","category-wellness","tag-ais","tag-american-institute-of-stress","tag-holiday-stress","tag-mental-health","tag-relaxation","tag-research","tag-stress","tag-stress-management","tag-stress-reduction","tag-stress-relief","pmpro-has-access"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Alone Time Helps Reduce Holiday Stress - The American Institute of Stress<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"46% of Americans don\u2019t get enough alone time during the holiday season, even though 56% say it\u2019s crucial for their mental health. 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