Now January certainly isn’t most people’s favourite month – it’s cold, dark, often rainy and all the festivities we enjoyed so much are well and truly over! Plenty of you have embarked on a healthy eating/living mission whilst some people are even taking things to the extreme and cutting out all alcohol completely. These New Year’s Resolution’s aren’t turning out to be so fun… so here’s a few things that Keith hopes will help you stay happy and healthy this January…

Sleep more

There’s not many people who always get as much sleep as they’d like – there’s just not enough hours in the day! Experts recommend between 7 and 9 hours sleep every night as a poor night’s sleep can not only leave you feeling sluggish during the day but also more vulnerable to illness – with the cold and dark at the moment, you don’t need anything else trying to make you ill. It’s actually perfectly natural to sleep more during the longer winter nights so let’s use it and catch up.

Drink more water and limit the ‘happy hours’

There might a reason that everyone seems to be doing dry January and perhaps it’s not such a bad idea! Staying hydrated by drinking 8-10 glasses of water a day makes you feel a lot better and is an important part of the illness battle. Alcohol, on the other hand, makes your immune system more susceptible to illness plus think of all the money that you can save not drinking and I expect you probably had enough in December.

Exercise or just get moving

You don’t need to do a killer workout at the gym that will stop you walking for days but if you do a little bit of exercise everyday then you’ll be feeling better in no time. Start by getting off the bus a bit earlier and walking that extra 20 minutes or choose that little café that’s slightly further away for lunch.

Eat more fruit and veg

Don’t give in to the temptation to indulge yourself in unhealthy comfort food, we know it’s cold and dark outside but that won’t make you feel better in the long run. Why not try using filling winter veg such as carrots, parsnips, swede and turnips – make a nice stew or soup? You’ll feel so much better than you will filled with pizza and biscuits. If you do find yourself craving something sugary then try a juicy clementine or some sweet dried fruit.

Try new activities

Don’t use the cold winter months as an excuse to stay in and lounge around. Push yourself a little and try something new – ice-skating, go to an exhibition or start knitting. You’ll feel proud of yourself and there’s no better time of year for a new you to appear? You can always take along a friend and tackle it together – strength in numbers…