January Blues Or January Happiness?

Happy New Year!

For some, it is. For others, it’s the oddest time of the year…

After the highs of Christmas and NYE, the Christmas trees come down, the cold sets in and our mood changes.

For some, it’s a reason to do Dry January- a whole month of booze. For others, Veganuary- where meat eaters and vegetarians alike try a plant based diet for 31 days.

Some, like me (Danny), really enjoy January. Firstly, my birthday was on 4th and I always like the challenge of a new year to set new work and life goals.

I also really enjoy having more nights in, cooking lovely home cooked meals and spending more time snuggled up on the sofa with my dog and family watching TV or playing a board game together.

For others, it can be a truly dreadful month. Funds are low and so are moods and emotions.

But what can we do to battle the January Blues and seek happiness once again?

Well, help is at hand with my top 5 tips of how to get yourself back in your happy place…

1) Exercise. Whether it’s running, cycling, going to the gym or even yoga, make it your mission to do at least 30 minutes a day, 4-5 times a week. I find a run in the morning really energises me and releases endorphins leaving me feeling great for the rest of the day.

2) Sleep. We all know a good nights sleep puts us in a good mood for the next day. So try and get an early night in as much as possible and really relax your brain and body before you turn the lights out. I love a bit of gentle yoga and breathing before I read in bed and I always leave my phone downstairs so I’m unplugged from technology too. Which brings me to the next one…

3) Get off screens more. We all lead busy lives and our phones, tablets and computers play a big part. Sometimes, when we want to relax, we just scroll through Instagram mindlessly, but it doesn’t really, truly relax us. So try listening to a podcast instead, or the radio, or lie back and listen to some music and breathe. Or read a book instead.

4) Get out in to nature. It’s proven more and more that a walk or run in the park, countryside, woods, wherever, can help us lighten our mood. Try listening out for bird song and stand and look at a tree and really study its detail. Trees are a wonder of nature and help us breathe- literally!

5) Call a friend, especially someone who may be lonely, and have a good chat. We spend so much time communicating with each other via Whats App, Snapchat, Facebook etc but a phone call is so much more personal and you willl both feel rejuvenated having a much needed catch up.

I hope this helps beat the January Blues!