Blue Monday

Researchers at Cardiff University have determined that Monday 21^st January 2013 is Blue Monday - the most depressing day of the year!   

They calculated this by looking at six factors:

• Weather conditions (cold and grey)
• Debt levels (and our ability to repay that debt)
• Time elapsed since the Christmas holidays
• Time elapsed since abandoning New Year Resolutions
• Lack of motivation
• Lack of having anything to look forward to in the near future

I have really noticed since the Christmas holidays were over how subdued people have been in the supermarket and around the town.

But stop worrying now because this year 21 January is also National Hug Day!   

I know what you’re thinking, ‘There’s colds and bugs around, why do I want to hug someone?’  Well firstly, having a positive attitude is very good for your immune system.  Secondly, making social connections is essential for boosting your mental health. 

And finally giving and receiving hugs causes our body to release the ‘feel good’ hormone oxytocin.  Oxytocin has been credited with numerous body-and-mind benefits, including: giving us healthier hearts; improving our relationships with other people; slowing down the ageing process, and (critically) making us feel happier.

If you’re not ready for that hug yet, you can achieve similar results from giving and receiving smiles and you can do that from a safe distance!

Have a Happy Monday!

Dryathlon

Here in the UK, Cancer Research UK are encouraging people to give up alcohol for the month of January and raise money for the charity through sponsorship or by pledging the money saved by not drinking.  What a great thing to do after the excesses of Christmas and the New Year. 

Drinking alcohol is not just linked to increasing your risk of cancer, it is also linked to a variety of diseases and injuries associated with accidents.  Although giving up alcohol for a month will not have a lasting positive effect on your health, it may break an existing habit and get you into a different way of enjoying yourself. 

If you want to get started make a commitment to yourself and then tell a friend or even better tell a lot of friends.  That simple step will increase the probability of you sticking to your resolve.

 Once you have done that, think about the circumstances and contexts in which you usually drink alcohol.  What could you do differently?  What alternative drink could you enjoy?  If you have a drink of alcohol at home at a certain time of day, what else could you do at that time to break that habit?

Drink plenty of water.  It will let your conscious and unconscious mind know that you are not thirsty.  It will also help to flush through your kidneys and liver.

The deadline for signing up for Dryathalon is 6 January but if you have missed it you can still do this for yourself.  For more details see www.dryathlon.org.uk