A beloved tradition or a much-dreaded chore, even with the dominance of online shopping few people avoid a trip to the shops altogether in the run up to Christmas.
Bustling crowds, over-heated shops, queues at tills and a dizzying array of gifts to choose from can leave us feeling weary and very probably veering off into the nearest coffee shop for a caffeine and festive-bake themed break from it all.
And while Christmas shopping can feel exhausting from the perspective of sensory overload, in fact you might also be surprised to learn how far you can actually walk in an average shopping trip; let alone a bumper Christmas shopping excursion.
On average, walking burns 200 calories an hour. So if you walk or don’t park near to the shops, if you take stairs rather than lifts, if you’re picking up items from shops at the far end of town, it’s not difficult to see how quickly all those steps can add up to a good level of physical output.
Whether you’ll be pounding the high streets this week or early morning shopping before work in the glow of a blue screen, take time out to relax, look after yourself and your sleep this December in the comfort of your mattress from Millbrook Beds, because you might be using more energy than you realise.