January Challenges: Why I Don’t Recommend Them!

We’re just over a week into the new year and there are January challenges everywhere! Dry January. Veganuary. 21 Day Sugar-Free Challenges and countless weight loss groups to join. BUT are they always the best thing for you if you need to de-stress and get into the habit of putting yourself first in 2025?

Undoubtedly these are all great goals to aim for, but if you’re already feeling very stressed and overwhelmed they’re probably not the best place to start.

Just to be clear, I’m definitely not saying that minimising sugar and alcohol in your life is a bad thing – OF COURSE THAT WOULD BE GREAT FOR YOU!  But if it’s stressing you out, or not making you feel good, then unfortunately it’s just adding to your overwhelm. If that’s you, you’ll probably find starting in the spring or summer suits you better.

Stress and Gut Health

As you probably know, the link between gut health and stress is huge. You can read more about that here. So adding more pressure with unrealistic goals probably isn’t going to be very helpful for you. And what’s going to happen when you ‘fail’ or ‘fall off the wagon’ by the middle of the month? It’s not going to do much for your confidence and stress levels, and won’t be the best way to start considering your own needs first in the New Year.

So, I thought I’d go in with a different kind of January challenge. How about a ‘Put Yourself First and Start to De-Stress Challenge‘?

Here are four really simple strategies you can easily start to implement today, to carve out some space for YOU in your life.

If you’re worried your diet is impacting your gut health, I’d highly recommend downloading my online course The Ultimate Gut Health Programme to help support both your digestive sysem and hormone health, whilst avoiding triggering symptoms.

It’d be impossible to include all you need to know in one blog, but the programme will have all you need to know to ensure you’re soothing your digestive system, whilst eating delicious and filling foods.

No screens in your bedroom

A tricky one I know! But really try and aim to switch your phone off a good hour or two before you go to sleep.  This will really help you sleep much better.  And if you’re not tired you’ll be much less prone to stress.

When you think about it, there’s not usually anything that needs your urgent attention late in the evening which can’t wait until the next morning.  People don’t usually expect you to reply to them immediately if they email you outside work hours.

The other thing is that the light emitted from phones and gadgets – blue light – has been proven to disrupt sleeping patterns. So you’ll be doing yourself a huge favour, and definitely putting yourself first in 2025, if you can keep your phone out of your bedroom.

Walk in fresh air every day

No matter how busy you are, aim to make it a habit to step outside for a breath of fresh air each day. Doing this, even for short increments at a time, provides you with many health benefits—both physical and mental.

Research suggests spending time outside helps you sleep better at night, lowers heart rate, reduces stress levels, boosts mental health, and stimulates the immune system.

So if you’re always really, really busy think about where you can squeeze in a quick walk. Maybe walk to do the school run, take a walk at lunchtime (in a leisurely way, not racing about) in a relaxing environment like a park or next to a river, if you’re lucky enough to be near one.

And it’s not just a case of doing these small things once or twice, it’s important to get into the habit of doing as much as you can to create space for YOU every single day. It’s the constant repetition of many tiny habits, which together soothe you and make sure you’re at your optimum—emotionally, physically, and mentally.

Of course there are millions and millions of things you could do to look after yourself, put yourself first and create space in your (probably) very hectic life.