Festive-season stress? sweat it away!

Feeling stressed in the lead-up to Christmas? You're not the only one, but a few key exercise tips and tricks could help you work it out.

- KAREN FITTALL

Even if you're a die-hard Christmas fan, there's no escaping the fact that the festive season can be hectic and expensive.

Throw in the potential for a few fraught family moments and the pressure to make your celebrations perfect and it all adds up to one thing - stress.

No surprise then that as many as 70 per cent of Australians agree that Christmas is a tense time.

Good news: something as simple as being active could dial your stress levels down. But, with recent research showing that not all exercise is created equal when it comes to boosting mental health, here’s how to make it work this season.

What a stress-less workout looks like

While the ‘any exercise is better than none’ approach is certainly true when it comes to the physical health perks, research suggests the same can’t necessarily be said for the psychological benefits. For example, while the activity accumulated by doing housework or skipping the escalator to take the stairs adds up as far as your heart health's concerned, a new study from researchers in the United States suggests the mental boost from exercise depends more on the 'why' and the 'where' than the 'what'. This three-step science-backed plan can help you get it right - and while choosing an exercise that nails all three is the ultimate goal, achieving just one is a good place to start at this time of year.

Choose something fun