Your Guide to a Healthy Holiday Season: 5 Tips from Your Primary Care Doctor
Dec 12, 2025
The holiday season makes sticking to your normal routine difficult. By mid-December, you might not be able to remember the last time you ate a vegetable that wasn’t on a veggie tray at a party. Even the most disciplined people skip workouts, lose sleep, and live on sugar for a few weeks.
Our board-certified physicians at Tru Medical Management in East Williamsburg and Clinton Hill know you aren’t going to be perfect during the holidays — and that’s fine. The goal is to protect your health enough that you don’t start the new year sick, exhausted, or dealing with complications from neglected chronic conditions.
Here are five tips from our primary care doctors for how to get through the season without completely derailing your health.
Hot chocolate and festive cocktails are everywhere this time of year, but your body still needs plain water to function properly. Cold winter air can be dehydrating, and indoor heating makes it worse. You might not feel as thirsty as you do in summer, but you’re still losing fluids throughout the day.
Keep a water bottle nearby while you’re wrapping gifts, cooking, or working. Drink a glass before each meal and another between meals. If you’re celebrating with alcohol, alternate each drink with water to help your body process it and prevent dehydration that weakens your immune system.
Late-night parties, overnight guests, and travel across time zones can wreck your normal sleep pattern. Missing sleep weakens your ability to fight off colds and flu that spread easily this time of year.
Do what you can to keep your usual bedtime and wake-up time, even during celebrations. Skip large meals close to bedtime, and limit caffeine after 2 pm. If you drink alcohol at dinner, give your body a few hours to process it before trying to sleep.
You might not stick to your regular gym schedule when you’re traveling or hosting relatives, but you can still move your body. Walking after big meals helps with digestion and keeps your energy up instead of letting you sink into a food coma on the couch. Even 10 minutes of movement helps manage blood sugar and stress.
Colds, flu, and other respiratory infections peak during the holidays because people gather indoors in close quarters. Washing your hands frequently — especially before eating and after touching shared surfaces — cuts down your risk of getting sick.
If you haven’t gotten your flu shot yet, see us for one. Watch for warning signs that what seems like a minor cold needs medical attention. A fever over 101°F that lasts more than two days means you should call your doctor.
Our same-day sick visits mean you don’t have to wait days for an appointment while you’re feeling miserable. Upper respiratory infections can turn into something more serious if you don't get treatment, especially if you have asthma, diabetes, or other chronic conditions.
Trying to attend every party, make every recipe, and buy the perfect gift for everyone creates stress that affects your physical health. High stress raises your blood pressure, disrupts your sleep, and makes you more susceptible to illness.
Build in small recovery breaks when you do have commitments. Take 10 minutes alone in your car before joining the group at a party. Wake up 15 minutes earlier than the rest of your household for some quiet and a cup of coffee before the day starts. These tiny pauses help you reset instead of running yourself into the ground.
Our team at Tru Medical Management offers preventive care, chronic disease management, vaccines, and walk-in visits when you need care fast. We’re here for same-day appointments when illness strikes and routine checkups to keep chronic conditions under control. Call us at 347-851-8133 or book online at our East Williamsburg or Clinton Hill locations.