Brighten up winter as RED January celebrates it’s 10th year

By RED January | 22 November 2024 | TAGS: RED January, Mental Health, Active Workplaces

RED January is an exciting opportunity for everyone in Greater Manchester to get moving to support their friends, colleagues, and communities to beat the winter blues.

With late November seeing a sharp fall in temperatures and snow across the city region, this is a time when being active is particularly challenging, with increased reports of lower mood and energy. 

It's also a time when, with the darker evenings, many women change or reduce their outdoor physical activity, as highlighted by This Girl Can's Lift The Curfew campaign.

For companies, groups, organisations, clubs, and teams in Greater Manchester though, there's an opportunity - through RED January - to use regular movement, physical activity, and sport to boost mood and mental wellbeing. 

Celebrating it’s 10th year, RED (Rise Every Day) January is a nationwide community initiative, open to all and completely free. RED's philosophy is to empower all of us to move to boost our mood in the winter.

Participants can rise to their own challenge of walking, dancing, stretching, running, cycling - whatever works for them.

More than half of participants who embrace RED January experience a significant improvement in happiness and a reduction in anxiety during the month.

Meanwhile nearly a third (32%) of participants moved from being inactive to fairly active with 74% being more active than usual during the month. 

To date, the RED community has raised over £3.2 million as part of their work with mental health charity Mind over Mountains set to benefit from participants' fundraising this year.

Sign-up for RED January 2025.

If you would like to join our movement for movement, sign-up and register to be part of the GM Moving in Action team this January.

Read more about GM Moving's work within mental health.