This year, weddings, birthdays, graduations, and other celebrations were canceled or remarkably subdued. Because of that, it might be tempting to downplay the holiday season like we have with other celebrations this year, especially with surging COVID cases. If you are in that mindset, you might want to rethink that decision. Based on an abundance of evidence, it is even more critical for our mental well-being that we engage in rituals of the holiday season, while observing the limitations needed to keep us safe from the virus.

Research shows that only about half of us are satisfied with either the quality or amount of sleep we get (Lau et al, 2018). And this was before Covid-19. With so much going on in the world and in our personal lives, it is understandable that we may be experiencing even more difficulty with our sleep habits. So, what can we do about it?

This morning as I was drinking my coffee and preparing for the day, I noticed my sweet little dogs all curled up in their beds totally oblivious to anything beyond this moment. I have to say, I envied them. For them, there is no crisis … no worries. All they know is that in this moment everything is fine. This prompted me to take a look at the latest research on pets and well-being.

It seems everyone is telling us to be calm, don’t panic. What does that even look like? How can we be calm when everything that we have known as “normal” is changing? Here are some exercises that may help.