27 December 2005

Post-Christmas Health Thoughts

How was your Christmas?

How was your long vacation? Was it fun at all? Did you get to rest? Did you get to enjoy some quality time with family and friends?

I think December is the most stressful month of all. You get to shop for gifts for everyone, searching every nook and corner of your chosen mall, withstand long lines having your gifts neatly-wrapped, or if you're a semi-scrooge, you probably spent burning the midnight oil gift-wrapping the presents yourself. Worse, if you really weren't able to bear the panic of last-minute Christmas shopping, you probably ended up 'recycling' the Christmas gifts you received. Be careful though, a friend of mine got into a fight because of this slick strategy. Recycling gifts takes more than skill. Be sure first you know the rules how it's done.

The stress does not end there. There's still the Christmas dinner or Noche Buena to prepare, or if you're already dog-tired by that time, you can probably show up uninvited in the house of your best friend or relative and enjoy what they have prepared.

Did you go home drunk? Was the hangover too much?

Be careful with too much alcohol intake. It has been shown that too much alcohol in your system damages not only harm your liver, but your bones as well. I fully agree with the conclusion of a recent study (published in the BMJ) that the shapes of drinking glasses greatly influence how much alcohol is poured to you. How about an ultimate hangover cure? I don't want to be a killjoy, but another new study says all hangover 'cures' are useless!

Ladies, were you able to meet men who were cool dancers in the Christmas parties you attended?

There is good news there if you did meet those good male dancers. In the latest issue of the journal Nature, the cover story reveals that it appears that males who dance well may be more desirable as mates. The study also revealed a strong link between symmetry and dancing ability.

Remain happy and healthy as we approach the coming new year. Happiness also made some positive news recently. Researchers discovered that happy people are generally successful in relationships, work, and health.

5 reactions:

may said...

happy new year doc emer! i'm sure you had a great christmas noche buena.mine was pretty boring, i ate like a famished pig the whole weekend, and yes, i'm complaining :)

tintin said...

Haha! My husband must be very symmetrical! He is a good dancer. Lucky me.

Dr. Emer said...

Don't worry, May. There'd be many more Christmases to come, and I'm certain one (maybe more!) of those you will choose to celebrate here. There's still media noche to look forward to.... :)

Good for you, Tin. :)

Happy, happy new year to both of you!!!

poppycock said...

merry christmas doc emer :-)

haaay, hinihika ako. otherwise our christmas was quiet and peaceful, with lots of quality time spent with family, and it was good.

the upside is that i was very well behaved with food because i didn't really have much appetite to eat these past few days. the downside is i am using steroid inhalers, but not too often, if i can help it.

rolly said...

Never been drunk for quite a long time! Probably a year ago.

Waah, I don't know how to dance!

Happy New Year!