Don’t let January bring you down… how to beat the blues

Heading back to work after the Christmas break can be a depressing prospect for many, the festive treats have all gone, its cold and it is a whole year until it all happens again.

Here are some top tips to help you beat those blues…

1. Get active- we all know that exercise releases endorphins which are scientifically proven to make us feel happier. Partaking in regular workouts can therefore be a good way to beat the January blues.
2. Laugh more- research shows that a dose of laughter can be the perfect medicine to lift your mood. Many even say that “Your body doesn’t know the difference between real or fake laughter – as long as you are willing to laugh you will release the feel good hormones that lift your mood.”
3. Light therapy- light therapy is another method often used to try and beat the blues, research shows that 10 to 15% of people suffer from changes in their mood due to the darkness of winter months. There are now light boxes on the market to try and solve this, even using this light for just 30 minutes a day is argued to help up to 70% of people after only a few weeks.
4. Listen to music- music is a great way to help improve your mood, brain imaging studies have shown that music works to stimulate parts of the brain associated with emotions.
5. Be social- instead of avoiding Facebook in the fear of seeing everyone else’s happy posts get online. A new study has found that engaging in social media can improve our mood as seeing positive posts can make us feel happier.
6. Get out and about- stay as busy as you would be in the festive period to keep your mind off of any negativity that you may be feeling.
7. Look forward to the New Year ahead… everyone at Coast wishes you a great 2016!