How To Cope With January’s Return To Reality

It's official: the festive season's bubble has well and truly burst. 

There's no way you can legitimately use the 'ah sure I'm on my holidays' excuse any more. There are no more parties, or nights out, or boozy dinners remaining. All presents have been exchanged, and the very thought of checking the bank balance causes you to break out in sweats. 

After spending the holidays curled up in a ball surrounded by tinsel, dancing Santas, empty bottles of gin and crumpled sweet wrappers, the thought of resuming real life makes you shudder. 

Now everyone is back to 9am starts, full days in the office, and promising themselves they'll cook dinner each evening, despite the overwhelming temptation to reach for a ready meal from Spar. 

The strug will be strong this January, so here are some ways to lessen those blues.

1. Do your weekly shop online

Order a week's worth of food online, and schedule it to be delivered when you get home from work some evening. Try to stay away from the bad stuff, and load up on fruit, veg and meat to get your immune system going again after two weeks of heavy drinking and overeating. 

Having a full fridge will make you way less inclined to reach for the takeaway menus when you come home in the evenings, and you'll be all the better for it.

2. Try to get a bit of fresh air

Even if it's Baltic outside, get your act together – a brisk 30 minute walk will do the job and get some lovely endorphins flowing. If you think that once you get home you won't want to leave the house again, walk home from work (or some of the way at the very least) instead.

3. Plan some social events

Don't worry, this doesn't need to be anything too crazy. With loads of people doing a sober January, it's often the case that you barely see any of your mates. Best way around this? Invite some friends around to yours over the weekend for a pot luck dinner or board games night. 

It'll be easy on the pocket and a nice way to get the gang together.

4. Get some sleep

While experts say we all need 8 hours sleep a night, the average adult only gets around 5 hours. Be stricter about your bedtime, switching off phones and laptops an hour before you hit the sack and try reading a book instead. 

The benefits of these little adjustments to your daily routine can be huge.

So we know January's going to be grim, but embrace these four simple steps and it will be a whole lot easier. 

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