Nine back-to-work January moodboosters

Could a cold shower give you the boost you need this January? Photo / 123R

It's Divorce Day on January 6, and Blue Monday on the 20th. There are weeks ahead of booze deprivation if you're doing Dry January, and of steak deprivation if you're doing Veganuary. You're also likely to be heavier and more tired after the Christmas festivities. This is January, ladies and gentlemen, and it's bleak. Here are a few simple things to help smooth the road to a new year...

Book your next holiday

Research has found that anticipation of an event, such as your next holiday, actually evokes more positive emotions than remembering what happened on your last one. You can even use an app (such as Ready Set Holiday) to help you count down the days to your next trip. But make it a holiday or an experience you're anticipating, not buying your next car. A paper published in the journal Psychological Science looked at the research on the subject and found that looking forward to events – think concert tickets and trips away - makes us happier than buying material goods.

Mind your magnesium

"For your mood, your muscles, your energy and the health of your mind/body, keep your magnesium level up," says Dr Jenny Goodman, author of new book Staying Alive in Toxic Times.

She suggests eating your greens – dark leafy vegetables are the richest source - and considering a supplement: most people have low levels and if you have trouble sleeping, taking a magnesium capsule before bed is great for calming the nerves and muscles.

Take a cold shower

One clinical trial suggested that taking a short cold shower 2-3 times a week could have antidepressant effects. Exposure to cold is known to activate the sympathetic nervous system and increase levels of the brain's upbeat chemicals such as beta-endorphins and noradrenaline.

"Additionally, due to the high density of cold receptors in the skin, a cold shower sends an overwhelming amount of electrical impulses from peripheral nerve endings to the brain, which could have antidepressant effects," the researchers concluded, also noting that it has a pain reduction effect too.

You could also try one of the new whole-body cryotherapy chambers springing up in the UK where you're deposited into a cold glass box and exposed to temperatures ranging from -37 to -120 degrees celsius for about 3-4 minutes (it's hugely popular in the professional sport circles and now it's hitting the consumer world).

When I tried it, I literally felt as if I was going to die, but for three straight days afterwards, I felt as if I'd downed three proseccos. It's enlivening.

Be body neutral

We've had decades of beating our bodies up for being fat and recently, the pendulum has swung the other way with the rise of body positivity and love-my-fat influencers. The new body neutrality is about not having to think anything much about your body; if you don't love it, so what? "I used to exist in an echo chamber of body positivity and self-love", says personal trainer and influencer Tally Rye, author of new book Train Happy. But a client once said to me "Why do I have to love my body? Why can't I just feel neutral about it? Why does it have to be such a big deal?'" Could 2020 be the year we focus less on the look of our bodies and more on actually doing things with them instead?

High-speed cleaning

While last decade we were obsessed with HIIT, this year get ready for its more achievable cousin, HIIPA, which stands for High Intensity Incidental Physical Activity. That's short, sharp bursts of intense movement that can be incorporated into your daily routine – without setting foot in the gym.

From climbing stairs as fast as you can to carrying heavy shopping home, even cleaning the shower at high speed - each of these activities is an opportunity for calorie burn and the subsequent mental health benefits. In a piece published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, sports scientists from around the world argued that many daily tasks can be considered 'high intensity' physical activity, if they're done with enough oomph.

Do the 3:1 happiness trick

One researcher has identified a simple equation to help us increase our day to day happiness and coined it The Positivity Ratio. Barbara Frederickson found that if we had three positive emotions for every one negative emotion, we could increase our overall daily happiness. The opportunities for this are all around us in the positive experiences happening everywhere but, because our brains are more wired to look for the bad, we might not notice them. If you're annoyed about something, shelf it for ten minutes and think about three other positive things going on.

Counteract bad news with good news for a happy January. Photo / 123RF

Learn the art of the power break

Your body has its own 24 hour clock, known as the 'ultradian cycle', says stress and sleep expert Dr Nerina Ramlakhan, author of The Little Book of Sleep. "You might think you can keep working, shopping, cooking or cleaning for hours on end but, for this cycle to function at its best, you need to take a break every 90 minutes".

She suggests '5555 breathing' which is taking five breaths made up of five counts in and five counts out, for five minutes, five times a day. Do it before you eat and before you sleep or during the day when you need to refresh your mind or calm down fast. A 20 minute break spent in nature could also lower your stress hormones by ten per cent, research published in April last year from the University of Michigan found.

Join the CBD converts

There's a reason everyone is banging on about CBD. Although the science is still patchy (there are some 2100 published research papers on CBD, but many of them are still small or on animals), anecdotally, many people find that it works and it's quick, especially for calming. Trouble is, it can taste gruesome. The best tasting CBD I have found is BetterYou CBD Daily Oral Spray which has a light lime-citrus flavour.

Filter out the drama

During those moments when you're losing it or about to (and certainly before you quit your job or tell your partner you want a divorce in the heat of the moment), try this to help you respond with consideration instead of rage. "Imagine you have a pair of glasses and every time you put them on, you are able to objectively observe the world around you," suggests Heatherash Amara, author of new book The Warrior Heart Practice.

"Your observer glasses filter out the drama of your story, to reveal only the truth that lies beneath." It sounds woo-woo but it can be an effective mind shift. "Get specific about what you see and what you sense. Instead of saying, 'I feel hurt by his actions,' say what is happening, such as 'He was late the last three times we agreed to meet.'" By learning to separate your emotions and thoughts from what's actually going on, you're able to step away and formulate a more measured response.