How to beat the January blues

January can make even the most energetic of us feel down in the dumps.Cold, dreary weather, lack of sleep and too much food and drink leave us feeling sluggish and overweight.

Here we provide you with seven top tips to help you feel better and brighter than ever this winter.

TIP ONE: LIE FLAT ON THE FLOOR WITH YOUR LEGS RAISED

According to health expert Fiona Slatter, simply lying on the floor with your legs slightly raised can help boost energy levels because it calms the body and opens up your energy channels.

Based on the Chinese principle of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), this exercise relaxes the lower and upper back which, in turn, opens the stomach meridian or energy channel. “The best time to do this simple exercise is when you wake up because this is when your body is stiff and in need of energising,” she says.

How to do the exercise

After waking up – and before you have a drink or shower – find a spot on the floor just in front of a chair or wall. Lie down on the floor placing your bottom about ten inches away from the chair or wall – enough room to allow you to rest your legs against your support. Your legs can be slightly bent, or at right angles to the wall or chair.

Now, place your hands under your head or alongside your body and close your eyes. Try to relax for around five minutes, without falling asleep. Practise for five minutes whenever you feel tired or sluggish to restore your energy levels.

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TIP TWO: PLAN A HOLIDAY
Research shows that going on holiday is key to creating happiness. The survey found that out of 1,000 people interviewed, almost three quarters of those questioned said going on holiday made them feel happy.

“A holiday gives you the time and space to do the things that make you happy,” says Carol Rothwell, a chartered occupational psychologist who was also involved in a survey carried out by Thomson Holidays.

Psychologists believe that even looking forward to your holiday can do you the power of good. This is because the anticipation of a holiday can make you feel excited by releasing endorphins, your bodies’ natural feel-good hormones.

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TIP THREE: ASK YOURSELF WHAT’S MAKING YOU FEEL DOWN IN THE DUMPS
New Year is often a time for self-reflection which can spiral into the January blues. But don’t panic, says Carole Gaskell, author of Transform Your Life. Asking yourself a few simple questions can help you resolve your problems.

“Being low in January is very common,” she says. “But rather than pushing your feelings to one side, allow yourself to acknowledge them so you can resolve them,” she says.

One way of doing this is to fill in the Wheel of Life, a simple exercise often used by life coaches to help people find out exactly what is making them unhappy.

The idea is to draw a wheel with eight spokes. Each spoke should represent eight areas of your life. These include:

1. Your health

2. Your money

3. Your social life (including fun and recreation)

4. Your partner/relationship

5. Your work/career

6. Your friends/family

7. Your physical environment such as your home

8. Your personal growth/spirituality. This could include your religion, interests, hobbies, for example.

Now, for each area of your life represented by a spoke, give it a score out of 10. Where you score below five, take that area and try to focus on it.

“If your job or career is pulling you down, try to find ways to improve your situation,” says Carole. “It could be speaking to your boss about a big workload, or arranging a pay rise, for example.” Or perhaps it’s something as simple as making time to tidy your desk so you feel more in control.

If your relationship is an area that needs improving, arrange to sit down with your partner and talk to them. This may involve asking them to help you look after the children or do the washing up. If you are single and want to find a partner, perhaps it might mean joining a new social club or taking up an evening class to meet more people.

The best way of ensuring you improve your situation, says Carole, is to set yourself a goal. “This will trigger you into action and make you do something about your new challenge, rather than just forgetting about it. Tell yourself you want to double your score for that particular area of your life by the summer – or by the end of the year,” she suggests.

Four more ways to beat the January blues

To help brighten up your mood, here we present four more ways to boost your energy and happiness

TIP FOUR: GET BACK TO YOUR FITNESS REGIME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
If you had a holiday from your exercise regime over Christmas and New Year, the secret is to get back to the gym as soon as possible. According to Nick Hudson, a personal fitness trainer at London’s Holmes Place Academy, if you stop exercising for more than two weeks, your fitness levels may begin to drop.

You may well find it harder to climb upstairs or walk uphill because the small blood capillaries, which are involved in delivering oxygen to the heart and lungs, start to reduce in size and number.

Apart from your fitness levels declining, you’re also likely to lose the mental benefits of exercise such as enhanced feelings of wellbeing experienced from releasing our bodies natural feel-good hormones called endorphins.

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TIP FIVE: STICK TO FOODS WITH A LOW GLYCAEMIC INDEX
You can avoid the highs and lows of mood and energy associated with the January blues by choosing foods that are digested slowly, releasing energy at a steady pace, according to Amanda Geary of the Food and Mood Project, an organisation which researches the effects of food on behaviour.

Such foods are called low glycaemic index (G.I.) foods and include whole grain bread, oats and most vegetables. The glycaemic index is a published index of all carbohydrates created by Dr David Jenkins, a professor of nutrition at Canada’s University of Toronto in 1980.

It measures the various speeds at which the body breaks down food, releases glucose (sugar) into the bloodstream and raises blood sugar levels. This speed is rated on a scale of 1 to 100. The lower the G.I., the longer it takes for the body to break down food and the steadier the rise in blood sugar, making you feel fuller for longer and giving you longer-lasting energy.

A good example of low G.I foods are avocados. Avocados are one of the highest energy providers in the fruit world. An average-sized avocado weighs about 130g and supplies 250 kcals of energy.

Avocados are potassium-rich, which makes them ideal for people suffering from fatigue, sluggishness or depression. Potassium is important for chemical reactions within our bodies’ cells. Some research shows that inefficiency of this process has been linked to depression.

High GI foods, which are best avoided, include french baguettes, watermelons and instant white rice.

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TIP SIX: GO FOR A WALK OR RUN IN THE SUNSHINE
Next time the sun is out (which is probably more often than you think) why not go for a short walk or jog? According to Dr Lance Workman, lecturer in psychology at the University of Glamorgan in Wales, even a short walk in the sun can boost your energy and mood.

When our bodies are exposed to natural light, it has the effect of boosting serotonin levels – our bodies’ natural feel-good hormones. Natural light measures 100,000 lux (the measure of light intensity), but most of us are only exposed to 200 lux sitting at our desk or at home.

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TIP SEVEN: DRINK FENNEL TEA
Fennel is an easily available culinary herb which improves digestion and thus helps clear toxic accumulations from the body, helping to improve a sluggish system.

This aromatic herb is a natural diuretic – a substance that stimulates the bladder to produce urine, helping to remove fat and water from the body.

Drinking a cup of fennel tea every day should help to stimulate your digestion and remove any excess fat that has built up in your body over the Christmas period.

How to make fennel tea

Take a handful of fennel and chop it up so that it fills a quarter of a cup. Pour boiling water over the fennel. Let it stand for five minutes to allow the fennel to be infused. Then strain and drink it.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-154140/Four-ways-beat-January-blues.html#ixzz3xhTQoK2d
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