January is always a bit of a depressing month. Most people have just started a new diet/health regime and failed. You join a gym and go loads at the beginning of the month but then come the 3rd week works getting busy again and you forget. Then you realise actually you’d rather sit at home watching Netflix. Or is that just me?!
The weather is always bad, it rains, it’s cold, grey and miserable. If you are lucky you might get snow or even a sunny day to lift your spirits but then it goes away and it’s back to grey sky, clouds and rain. So here my top 5 tips for beating those January blues.
- Try and get active. Yes I know what I said earlier but seriously exercise is a good way to help beat those blues away. Try a new sport? Go for a swim, if the weathers ok go for a nice walk or a jog around a local park.
- Plan a getaway. Now obviously not everyone can afford this. Even if it’s a weekend or a night away to somewhere local it will give you something to look forward to.
- Try and socialise with people. Invite some friends round, have a chat, watch a film, play a game, cook some healthy food/swap recipes for smoothies, eat loads of chocolate, drink all the wine if you want to. Don’t shut yourself away longing for warmer weather, chances are your friends are probably feeling the same so why not try to cheer each other up.
- Read a good book, watch a good film, start a new tv series – especially a long one. Before you know it the lighter nights and longer days will be here.
- Wear something colourful. A scarf, hat, top, makeup, whatever you want. A nice bit of colour can cheer you up, especially on a grey day. I like painting my nails bright colours so that when I look down it’s a nice instant pop of colour.
- Sleep. I know I said 5 but this is also super important. A good nights sleep can make you feel so good. Put down the phone about an hour before bed. Relax, and you should nod off pretty quickly. Smartphones screens are so bright, even with the brightness right down, they stimulate your brain making it harder to fall asleep. I have a great little white noise app that I like to put on which helps me get off to sleep.
In all seriousness though if you are feeling depressed or anxious, and you are worried about it then please go and talk to a gp or someone who can help.
Is there anything you do to beat the blues?
These are great pointers, getting active always helps me massively and despite my reluctance to get up and exercise on occasion, I always feel so much better afterwards. x
Same here, it really does help.x
I joined a new gym in December and have been forcing myself to go on these cold evenings. It helps me and i feel so god after I’ve been x
That’s great, well done on keeping it up!
Great tips, I’ve definitely been feeling the January blues recently! x
Thanks, same here so I bought the flowers to cheer myself up.x
Great tips i definitely agree on colour! I pulled out my bright yellow peacoat it definitely has cheered me up in this cold and wet weather down south!!
Tell me about it, I can’t wait for the rain to stop!
Great tips! Getting active and a good nights sleep are definitely my mood boosters, although I don’t mind January too much! Absolutely love the flowers in the photo!
Aww thank you, I bought them in morrisons for £3! Bargain.
Sleep! Gotta love it! January is such a pressure filled month. Full of expectation setting and plans. It always gets too much x
It really is and a good nights sleep can make all the difference.
Great tips, especially the sleep, people often overlook how important sleep is to feeling better about everything!
Thanks, I agree. Having a toddler who doesn’t like to sleep at the moment is definitely making things difficult!
Really good tips. I’ve been feeling down purely because of a difficult pregnancy and a difficult toddler to deal with but taking some time out for me has been essential xx
Great tips! I always find that I feel like this in January especially after christmas and the new year. I definitely need more sleep but that won’t be happening any time soon xx