Managing holiday stress; home for the holidays and what it means for your diet; heart attacks spike – Morning Medical Update

Managing holiday stress

Holiday stress isn’t just in your head — it’s a full-body response, says David Spiegel, M.D., a psychiatrist at Stanford Medicine. In an explainer, Spiegel notes that stress triggers physical changes like surging adrenaline and cortisol, which over time can disrupt sleep and raise risks for headaches and heart disease. His advice is practical: notice what stress is trying to tell you, don’t ignore it; calm the body to calm the mind through breathing, meditation or exercise; and lean on social support, which can blunt stress’s health effects. Especially during the holidays, feeling some stress is normal — learning how to respond to it is what matters most.

Home for the holidays and what it means for your diet

Going home for the holidays can change how — and why — we eat, often in ways that have little to do with hunger, according to health psychologist Jane Ogden. In her new book, “How to Eat Well at Every Age,” Ogden explains how family habits, comments and long-standing food rules picked up in childhood can resurface at holiday dinners. Parents shape attitudes toward food well into adolescence, she says, and family gatherings can amplify emotional eating, guilt or “good vs. bad” food thinking.

Heart attack deaths rise during the holidays

More people die from heart attacks in the last week of December than at any other time of year, according to data highlighted by the American Heart Association. Studies published in Circulation and the BMJ show spikes on Christmas Day, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day, especially among older adults and people with diabetes or prior heart disease. Stress, overindulgence, disrupted routines and delaying care are likely contributors.