We’re heading into the holiday season — yep, we said it. It’s the last few months of the year which means the potential for more family time, more cooking and baking, shopping, celebrating, and everything that comes along with the holidays. And, to top it off, the ongoing stress of COVID is still here. Which means stress levels might be just a bit higher than usual.
This intensified chaos that seems to be hurtling our way got us thinking — why not start a book club! Now, before you laugh it off and think “who has time for a book club during the holidays?”, we encourage you to hear us out.
Reading can help reduce stress!
It’s true. According to a study conducted by Mindlab International at the University of Sussex, reading a book for six minutes can reduce stress levels by 68% compared to other activities (ex: listening to music, taking a walk). A 68% reduction in stress during the holidays — yes, please! But, why would something that takes up more of a person’s time, when it feels like we have so little time, help reduce stress? It’s a distraction.
Regardless of the genre, reading can temporarily transport you to someplace else that isn’t filled with stressors. Reading can engage you in a way that helps to slow your heart rate and help your muscles relax (because you aren’t thinking of the things you need to do). And, it can help focus your energy, improve concentration, and can help you be more creative. All good things to improve around the holidays!
Back to the Book Club…
For all of those reasons, we are starting a book club. We are starting with two people, but we’d love it if you could join us. We’ll select books every month, introduce them at the beginning of the month, and then share a video review the following month.
Our book club kick-off book is Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones (by James Clear). We’re pretty excited about this book, and we’re looking forward to reading/listening to it. Did you catch that — reading/listening. Oh yes, we have one inaugural member that loves the feel, and smell, of a good book, while the other likes to listen her way through books. Either way, it’s a great way to immerse yourself, reduce stress and perhaps learn something new along the way.
If you’re up for it, and we hope you are, grab a copy of the book from the library, Audible, or your favorite place to buy books. Give it a read, and then check out our blog next month for our take on the book. Or, drop us an email or comment on social with your thoughts on the book — we would love to hear your perspective.
Happy reading, and happy de-stressing!
