Healthy with holiday traditions!

Great news: The festive fun you enjoy every year is proven to boost your health and happiness!

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Improve your mood by admiring your Christmas tree

When you need a pick-me-up, sit near your live Christmas tree or holiday wreath, then take whiffs of its sweet, piney aroma. According to a study from Austria of adults 57 and over, you’ll be significantly happier within 15 minutes! Inhaling a nature scent that you associate with pleasant events (like a fun holiday) lifts your spirits. No fresh tree or wreath at home? Lighting a balsam fir–scented candle works too!

OR TURN ON THE TV! New research published in the Journal of Happiness Studies shows that enjoying favorite holiday activities from childhood (such as watching A Charlie Brown Christmas or It’s a Wonderful Life) increases positivity by making you feel more grateful for the blessings you have right now.

Midnight Mass thwarts inflammation!

A Duke University Medical Center study of people 65 and older found that those who visit their place of worship once a week are about 50% less likely to have an overabundance of interleukin-6, an immune system protein that can cause harmful inflammation when too high.

Lower your BP by window shopping