As 2021 draws to a close, you may be thinking of your ‘new year, new me’ resolutions for 2022. Whilst you may already know that your well-intended resolutions will be broken before long, RED January is an initiative that aims to get us to set achievable goals to move more during the first month of the year. Designed to raise money for charity, improve fitness and benefit our mental wellbeing, RED January is the ideal way to kickstart your new year.
What is RED January?
The ethos behind RED January is to encourage us all to set realistic and healthy goals by doing simple things to be more active to support our mental health whilst raising money for charity.
Since its inception, more than 200,000 people have signed up for RED January events and contributed millions of pounds to mental health organisations. This year, RED is supporting Sport in Mind, the foundation that delivers programmes in partnership with the NHS to use exercise and sport to boost mental health.
Beat the January blues
Along with the aim of being more active, RED January is timed to coincide with the challenges many of us face in the post-festive, mid-winter period. There is lots of evidence to show that winter is associated with higher rates of depression and that people report feeling lower than they do at other times of the year.
The benefits of exercise for mental health are well documented. However, lots of people make new years resolutions that are either unattainable or suitably vague and that probably won’t be achieved. The advice from RED January is to “set a goal that works for you and listen to your body”. That applies whether it’s running 10 miles a week or taking a 10-minute walk once a day.
RED January want us all to get talking about our targets and achievement too. Check out the RED Together initiative with links to interact with fellow participants on social media.
Ready to RED?
Whether you’re taking part in RED January and have set yourself some achievable targets to move a little more to improve your mental wellbeing, or you have set some testing new year’s resolutions to get fit, see if you can save some money by checking our latest NHS voucher codes before you buy any new gear.
