Stony Brook Medicine Health News
A family gathered at the dining room table celebrating the holidays together.

Health, YEAH! Ep3: Healthy Habits Throughout the Holidays

Hear from six Stony Brook Medicine experts discussing common concerns related to mental and physical health during the holiday season. From protecting children from injury and illness, to improving sleep, reducing stress and exercising mindful eating, there’s no shortage of advice from physicians on how to stay healthy during the winter months and beyond. 

The Experts

Carl Kaplan, MD

Dr. Kaplan is the Division Chief of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital. In this podcast, he discusses how to keep kids safe during the holidays, including while at large family gatherings or unfamiliar places. Dr. Kaplan also shares helpful tips for traveling with children, including how to alleviate pressure on the ears while on an airplane. 

Sritha Rajupet, MD, MPH

Dr. Rajupet is Chair of the Department of Family, Population and Preventive Medicine at Stony Brook Medicine. In this podcast, she discusses what vaccines children and adults should get to protect themselves from illness, including the flu, RSV and Covid-19. Dr. Rajupet also talks about how to prevent illness during the holidays with tips such as healthy eating and hand washing. 

Mohammad M. Amin, MB, CHB, MD

Dr. Amin is a specialist at the Stony Brook Sleep Disorders Center in Smithtown and Stony Brook Neurosciences Institute. In this podcast, he explains how much sleep people need to remain healthy, which depends on your age. He also discusses how lack of sleep can affect various aspects of health. Dr. Amin talks about how melatonin gets suppressed in the body and impacts sleep, and tips for improving sleep with your diet.

Courtney Liebling, MD

Dr. Liebling is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Stony Brook University Hospital. In this podcast, she talks about what it means to have “holiday blues” and explains the symptoms of SAD (seasonal affective disorder). She also offers tips for alleviating SAD symptoms. Dr. Liebling recommends ways to combat stress and loneliness during the holidays. 

Silvana Obici, MD

Dr. Obici is the Division Chief of Endocrinology at Stony Brook Medicine and her special interest is in diabetes and obesity. In this podcast, she discusses how to prevent the “downslide” in dietary habits during the holiday season. Dr. Obici talks about exercising mindfulness when eating and planning meals, focusing on portion control and opting for foods that are lower in sugar. She also recommends being aware of alcohol intake and sitting down to eat meals.

Edlira Tam, DO, MS FACC

Dr. Tam is a cardiologist and heart failure specialist at Stony Brook Heart Institute. In this podcast, she discusses holiday heart syndrome and what habits have a negative impact on heart health, including excessive drinking, stress and a sedentary lifestyle. Dr. Tam also talks about what precautions people with existing heart conditions should take during the holiday season and the warning signs of heart disease. 

What You’ll Hear in This Episode

Keeping Families Safe and Healthy During the Holiday Season

  • 00:00: Introduction of Dr. Kaplan and Dr. Rajupet
  • 02:10: When is flu season and should you get the flu shot?
  • 02:50: How do you keep kids safe during family gatherings?
  • 05:10: What to know about RSV 
  • 07:00: Should you get the Covid-19 vaccine this year?
  • 07:55: Why the winter months cause more sickness
  • 09:00: Tips for traveling with children 
  • 11:20: Preventing illness during the holiday season
  • 12:20: Are Covid-19 tests still accurate and important to take?

Improving Sleep and Mental Health in Winter Months

  • 13:40: Introduction of Dr. Amin and Dr. Liebling
  • 15:15: Is “holiday blues” a real thing?
  • 16:15: How much sleep do you need?
  • 17:05: How does sleep deprivation affect your health?
  • 17:55: What are the symptoms of SAD?
  • 19:22: Is melatonin a good supplement for sleep?
  • 22:40: What should you do to improve sleep?
  • 24:50: How to combat stress and loneliness during the holidays

Tips for Healthy Eating During the Holidays

  • 26:40: Introduction of Dr. Obici
  • 28:00: How to prevent overeating during the holidays
  • 30:00: How do people with diabetes eat safely this time of year?
  • 32:00: How should people with digestive issues eat during the holidays?
  • 34:15: Planning ahead for holiday eating
  • 35:55: The 80-20 rule

Protecting Heart Health During the Holiday Season

  • 37:15: Introduction of Dr. Tam
  • 37:40: What is holiday heart syndrome?
  • 38:10: Common holiday habits that impact the heart negatively
  • 38:57: Does stress increase your risk of heart disease?
  • 39:30: The impact of excessive alcohol consumption on heart health
  • 40:20: What precautions to take if you have an existing heart condition
  • 41:20: Does weight gain impact heart health?
  • 41:55: Warning signs of heart disease
  • 42:30: Closing remarks
  • Carl Kaplan, MD
    Pediatric Emergency Medicine

    Dr. Kaplan is an expert in pediatric emergency medicine, with over 20 years of experience evaluating and treating infants, children, and adolescents with all types of acute illness or injury. Dr. Kaplan has a passion for using point-of-care ultrasound and evidence-based medicine to assist with rapid evaluation of emergencies, and his other interests and research have been in pediatric asthma, trauma and quality improvement.

    View all posts
  • Sritha Rajupet, MD, MPH
    Interim Chair of Family, Population, & Preventive Medicine
    Director of Post-COVID Clinic Stony Brook Medicine

    Dr. Sritha Rajupet is a triple-board-certified physician in the fields of family medicine, preventive medicine and public health, and clinical informatics. She combines her passion for patient care and teaching with strategic planning for population health-based interventions using robust data sets, research, and quality improvement initiatives. She is actively involved in the development of integrative care delivery and payment models as well as the execution of population-based projects focused on improving value-based care to vulnerable and underserved communities.

    View all posts
  • Mohammad M Amin, MBBCH
    Sleep Medicine
    Pulmonary Critical Care
    Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine

    Dr. Amin received his Medical degree from Cairo University, School of Medicine in 1990. He completed Internal Medicine residency at LICH, Brooklyn, NY. He completed Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine training at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY.He is a key faculty member at the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at Stony Brook University.He has been practicing Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine since 2004. He serves as a Medical Director of AASM accredited Sleep Center at Northport, VAMC. He devotes 50% of his practice to Sleep Medicine and provided Sleep Medicine services to patients living on Long Island.

    View all posts
  • Courtney N Liebling, MD
    Psychiatry

    Courtney Liebling, MD, is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook. Dr. Liebling completed her undergraduate degree from Smith College, an all-womens college. Thus, it comes as no surprise that Dr. Lieblings interest is in womens mental health. Her focus is on managing psychotropic medications for women during times of hormonal fluctuations, including the menstrual, peripartum (prior to conception, during pregnancy, and post-partum), and perimenopausal periods.

    View all posts
  • Silvana Obici, MD
    Endocrinology
    Professor in Medicine

    Dr. Obici is an internal medicine physician and serves in a dual role for our bariatric program, working with our patients and our team as both an endocrinologist, and an obesity medicine specialist.

    View all posts
  • Edlira Tam, DO
    Heart Failure and Transplantation Cardiology

    Edlira Tam, DO, MS, FACC serves as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine and is an Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiologist at Stony Brook Heart Institute. In addition to her clinical role, she holds key positions as the Associate Director of the Ventricular Assist Device/Mechanical Circulatory Support program and the Associate Director of the Cardiogenic Shock program. Within her outpatient practice, Dr. Tam specializes in managing patients with heart failure, complex valve and coronary diseases, as well as various cardiomyopathies.

    View all posts
This article is intended to be general and/or educational in nature. Always consult your healthcare professional for help, diagnosis, guidance and treatment.