Give the gift of health this holiday season

When you want to show someone how much you care during the holiday season, consider the gift of health.

Of course, you can’t gift-wrap fitness and well-being, but you can give gear, experiences and more that express your good wishes. A gift that helps someone eat, sleep or exercise better can send a powerful message, said Dr. Laurence Sperling, the Katz Professor in Preventive Cardiology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.

Something that encourages your recipient to stay well is “an extra comment to somebody about how much you care about them,” said Sperling, founder of the Emory Center for Heart Disease Prevention.

He and other experts shared healthy gift ideas. Here’s what they said.

Keeping active

When purchasing a fitness-related holiday gift for someone, first consider what they most enjoy doing, said Dr. Cindy Lin, clinical professor in sports and spine medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle.

“Gear that fits into an everyday routine, such as reusable water bottles and comfortable workout clothes, can be a great gift,” said Lin, who is also director of clinical innovation at UW’s Sports Institute.

Lin is a fan of gear that’s portable, versatile and doesn’t take up much space, such as a yoga mat, exercise ball, resistance bands or free weights. Other simple gifts include fanny packs or belt packs for carrying a phone or keys while walking or jogging, or a reflective vest or headlamp for evening activities.

Joining up

Class passes, sports lessons, online subscriptions or a few months of gym membership could be a great way to help a family member get started on becoming more active without the financial commitment of a whole year, Lin said.

A consultation with a trainer could help someone focus on specific goals, Sperling said, but be careful: Gym memberships can be tricky to manage for anyone and signing someone up who doesn’t already have the time or interest to go to a gym might not motivate them.

Similarly, paying registration fees for a race might work for someone who is already a runner, said Sperling, a veteran marathoner. But for others, it might be more effective to sign them up for a fundraising walk or other healthy activity – and then promise to join them.

“Support and partnership is really important” for people trying to make a healthy change, Sperling said.

Getting technical

“Fitness trackers are a great way to get started with being active,” said Lin, who published an analysis on wearable technology in activity promotion.

“Monitoring heart rate helps track cardiovascular health and exercise intensity,” she said. “It’s also useful for people who are working on improving fitness levels or training for walkathons or marathons.”

Important features to look for, Lin said, include step tracking, calories burned, a long battery life and sweat and water resistance.

With nearly half of adults in the U.S. living with hypertension, a blood pressure monitor can be a great gift, Sperling said.

“An arm cuff is the way to go versus a wrist cuff,” Sperling said, and “you want to be sure it’s an appropriate cuff size.” The American Medical Association has a list of validated monitors at validatebp.org. He said to follow instructions from the American Heart Association on how to get an accurate reading.

Eating well

Holiday party gifts can be heavy on sweets and alcohol, but alternatives are easy to find, said Dr. Marie-Pierre St-Onge, an associate professor of nutritional medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York.

“There’s nice food gift baskets you can bring that include dried fruit and nuts that are probably a better option than cookies and cakes,” she said. And nonalcoholic mocktails could make for a fun party, she said. Look for varieties that are low in sugar.

A cookbook full of healthy ideas could be helpful, she said. Even basic kitchen tools can lead to healthier eating if they encourage people to make their own food at home, where they have more control over ingredients than at a restaurant, where meals can be packed with excess calories and sodium.

Sweet dreams

Even if your long winter naps don’t include visions of sugarplums, sleep is essential for health. St-Onge, who is also director of her institution’s Center of Excellence for Sleep and Circadian Research, said that sleepwear is a good gift option. “Soft and comfortable sleepwear is so, so good for sleep in my opinion,” she said. Look for something that’s neither too hot nor too restrictive.

Or you can help someone create a darker and quieter sleep space. “If you’re living someplace where there’s a lot of outdoor noise and light pollution, blackout curtains are a good way to go,” she said.

Being “mindful and thankful” can help support sleep, St-Onge said, so the gift of a paper journal for writing down thoughts makes sense.

Stepping out

A gift doesn’t have to be about “stuff,” Sperling said. It could be an experience that encourages people to get outside. That could take the form of a yearly state park pass or a membership to the local zoo.

When choosing a healthy gift, “you want to focus on things that are simple and sustainable,” Sperling said, because a healthy lifestyle is about making meaningful changes for the long term, not any one item or experience.

By thinking along these lines, he said, you could be offering “life-changing gifts that can improve the health of the people you love and care about.”