How to honor Mental Wellness Month in January
Clinically reviewed by Dr. Chris Mosunic, PhD, RD, MBA
January is Mental Wellness Month — perfect timing for a reset. Explore 8 activities, grounding rituals, and workplace ideas to support your mental wellbeing.
January is Mental Wellness Month: a time dedicated to supporting emotional health through everyday habits that are simple, sustainable, and accessible. Instead of strict resolutions or total life overhauls, the month encourages people to slow down and make space for practices that support mental and emotional balance.
For many, January arrives after a high-stress holiday season, leaving them feeling a little off-balance. The holidays often bring disrupted routines, travel, social demands, and little time to rest. As the pace shifts, Mental Wellness Month offers a softer entry into the new year, focused on calming your nervous system, easing stress, and rebuilding steadiness.
The month creates space to notice what you need and choose small habits that support your mind without becoming another task list. It helps you find the tools that work best for you — whether that’s five minutes of quiet, more sleep, reaching out to a friend, or seeking professional support. Here's what Mental Wellness Month is all about and how to take part in a way that feels doable for you, so you can start the year off more grounded than before.
What is Mental Wellness Month?
Mental Wellness Month takes place every January and focuses on small habits that support emotional wellbeing. Unlike strict resolutions or big lifestyle changes, it encourages practices that are easy to keep up, support your nervous system, and help you feel more balanced.
Mental wellness includes activities like regular sleep, social support, physical movement, and asking for help when you need it. Many groups share tools and resources during January to make these habits easier to build.
The goal is simple: to help people feel steadier in their daily lives without huge changes.
Why is Mental Wellness Month in January?
January offers a natural pause point. Especially after the holidays, schedules slow down, and there’s a little more room to reflect. Placing Mental Wellness Month at the start of the year gives people a moment to recalibrate before their routine and responsibilities fully resume.
It’s a strategic time for slowing down enough to check in with yourself and reconnect with the activities and routines that help you feel well.
Rather than pushing toward dramatic change, the timing encourages easy adjustments and honest self-awareness. January becomes an entryway to establishing supportive habits at the beginning, so that the rest of the year feels a little more grounded.
Why does supporting your mental wellness matter?
Supporting your mental wellness strengthens the systems that help you handle stress, stay connected, and move through daily life with more steadiness. Even small habits can make a noticeable difference.
Here are a few reasons why you should focus on mental wellness on a daily basis:
It helps regulate stress: Simple routines like breathing breaks, movement, or consistent meals support your nervous system and make challenges feel less overwhelming.
It improves sleep and mood stability: When your mind is allowed to pause, it’s easier to rest well, manage emotions, and stay focused.
It strengthens connection: Reaching out to friends, coworkers, or family activates the parts of the brain linked to safety, trust, and resilience.
It offers early warning signs: Paying attention to your mental wellness helps you notice burnout, anxiety, or heaviness before they escalate, so that you can actually do something about them.
It creates long-term steadiness: Small, consistent choices add up over time, giving you a foundation that supports you through busy or unpredictable seasons.
How to observe Mental Wellness Month: 8 tips to prioritize mental wellness this January
A simple reset works best when it feels doable. This Mental Wellness Month, focus on small, steady moments that help your mind and body settle after a busy season.
The ideas below are designed to fit into your life — even when your days feel messy or overstimulated. Take what feels supportive, and leave the rest.
1. Start with a gentle check-in
At the beginning of the month, take a moment to notice how you're feeling. This can be as simple as a quick mental check-in while you’re still in bed, brushing your teeth, or heading to work.
You might realize you’re drained, overwhelmed, restless, or missing structure. Naming what you’re carrying helps you figure out what kind of support you need, and makes you more likely to get it.
2. Create tiny grounding rituals
Grounding rituals can be simple: choose one action you can repeat most days, like stretching before you check your phone, taking a slow sip of your morning drink, or pausing for three deep breaths before opening your laptop.
The point is to create predictable moments that tell your brain it’s safe to settle. These moments give your brain the break it rarely gets, especially after a holiday season of constant stimulation.
Read more: 18 grounding techniques to help relieve anxiety
3. Rebuild connection
Connection is one of the most important ways to support your mental wellness, especially during the slower pace of January. Reach out to someone you trust, even if it’s just a quick message. Share something light with a coworker, or set up a regular walk with a friend. Small check-ins can go a long way in helping you feel more grounded.
If you’re carrying something that feels too heavy on your own, asking for support is a strong and healthy choice. That might mean talking to a therapist, joining a support group, or opening up to someone you trust. Getting support early can make a big difference.
Related read: How to build emotional connection in relationships
4. Set boundaries that protect your energy
Boundaries are a key part of mental wellness. They help protect your time, energy, and attention, especially during a month when you may feel stretched thin. A boundary can be as simple as turning off work notifications after a certain hour, keeping one morning a week plan-free, or building in breaks between meetings.
You basically want to create enough space so that you can move through your day with more steadiness and less stress. Remember that boundaries work best when they’re clear and doable.
5. Don’t forget movement and sleep
Movement can boost your mood, improve sleep, and help release stress. But it doesn’t have to be a full workout. Small actions like stretching while your coffee brews, walking during calls, or dancing to one song all count. The goal is to move in ways that feel easy to keep up when life gets busy.
Sleep also plays a significant role in mental wellness, and it’s common for sleep patterns to go off track during the holidays. You can support your body by dimming lights earlier, waking up at the same time each day, or swapping late-night scrolling for something more calming. These small shifts can all help you feel steadier after a busy season.
💙 For help learning how to move mindfully, explore Quality Moves Over Quantity with Mel Mah on the Calm app.
6. Shape your digital environment with intention
Screens are often a source of overwhelm, especially after a month full of group chats, photos, and notifications. But a full digital detox isn’t always possible.
Instead, choose one or two small adjustments. You might delete an app that drains you, charge your phone away from your bed, or limit morning scrolling to a few minutes.
These modest shifts help you start the day with more presence and less noise. Over time, they create a healthier relationship with technology and reduce the pressure you might put on yourself to always be connected.
💙 Need a little extra support? Press play on Build Healthier Phone Habits with Dr. Aditi Nerurkar on the Calm app.
7. Choose activities that restore you
You need time and space to restore yourself. Pick one activity that genuinely gives you energy, whether that’s reading a few pages of a familiar book, cooking something simple, revisiting a hobby, or watching a show that helps you unwind.
Small pleasures matter, especially when life feels busy. See which activity feels good in your body, and create small pockets of time to do more of that.
8. Honor your body
Your body often signals what your mind needs before your thoughts catch up. Pay attention to clues like tight shoulders, jaw tension, scattered thoughts, or irritation. These signals are information.
Then, respond to that information with minor adjustments to help make your day feel more manageable. Drink water, stretch your neck, take a slow breath, or lie down for a few minutes when your body asks for it.
Honoring these cues builds trust within yourself and helps you move through January (and the rest of the year) with more ease.
💙 Try a Body Scan meditation with Tamara Levitt on the Calm app to better tune into your needs.
How can your workplace celebrate Mental Wellness Month?
Workplaces shape how supported or stretched people feel in January. After the holidays, many employees return with mixed energy, and Mental Wellness Month offers a chance to help them ease back into their rhythm. A few small, thoughtful adjustments can make the transition feel steadier.
Here are a few ways your workplace can help celebrate Mental Wellness Month:
Offer flexible wellness options: Simple changes like meeting-free blocks, flexible start times, or brief midday breaks give people space to regroup. These shifts help show employees that mental wellbeing is part of the culture in a way that helps them feel supported.
Share mental health resources clearly: Many employees have access to support, but don’t know where to find it. Make benefits easy to find by sending a short resource list or posting it in a visible location. Clear information increases the chances that people will use what’s available.
Create low-pressure opportunities for connection: Short practices like a gratitude board, a five-minute meeting check-in, or a relaxed group walk can help coworkers reconnect without feeling obligated to participate.
Normalize conversations about mental health: When leaders talk openly about stress, boundaries, or balance, it reduces stigma and encourages employees to care for themselves. These conversations don’t need to be overly personal, but have just enough honesty to help people feel comfortable.
Provide small wellness moments: Short stretch breaks, drop-in mindfulness sessions, or a quiet workspace can be more effective than larger, more time-consuming events. Smaller steps are easier to maintain and often feel more accessible.
Encourage a culture of pacing: The start of the year can spark urgency, but steady expectations help more people find their footing. Realistic timelines and spaced-out projects support more sustainable work.
Mental Wellness Month FAQs
What month is Mental Health Awareness Month?
Mental Health Awareness Month takes place in May every year. It focuses on education, support, and reducing the stigma around mental health conditions.
In May, many organizations share information about symptoms, early support, and treatment options. The goal is to remind people that no one has to go through mental health challenges alone.
What’s the difference between Mental Wellness Month and Mental Health Awareness Month?
Mental Wellness Month (January) and Mental Health Awareness Month (May) support similar goals, but focus on different parts of the mental health spectrum.
January centers on prevention, everyday wellbeing, and simple tools that help people regulate stress and reconnect with themselves after a demanding holiday season. May, on the other hand, focuses on mental health conditions, education, stigma reduction, and access to care.
Both months, although slightly different, work together. January helps people build steady habits, while May promotes awareness of signs, symptoms, and treatment options for mental health conditions.
How do I observe Mental Wellness Month without adding pressure?
The key is to choose something small enough that it feels supportive, not overwhelming. Instead of trying to overhaul your routine, focus on one or two habits that help you feel grounded.
This could mean a daily check-in, a chill moment before work, or one boundary that protects your energy. If anything starts to feel like homework, scale it back. After all, the last thing you need is more pressure.
What are some mental wellness activities for January?
Simple activities can still make a meaningful difference when it comes to wellness: short walks, gentle stretching, reconnecting with a friend, cleaning one small space, enjoying a comforting routine, or taking breaks from screens are all helpful options.
Many people also find grounding in slower activities like journaling, reading, or preparing a meal that feels nourishing. Choose actions that help you stay more balanced, and the benefits will naturally come.
Why do people feel so stressed after the holidays?
The holidays often change your routine by bringing in travel, financial stress, and lots of social time. When January starts, the return to normal can feel rough.
Your body finally slows down, and that’s when stress starts to show up. Mental Wellness Month is meant to give you the time and space to reset more gently after the holidays.
Are there Mental Wellness Month ideas for work teams?
Yes. In fact, work teams often benefit from low-pressure activities that fit into the flow of their day. Short stretch breaks, gratitude boards, weekly check-ins, or optional mindfulness sessions can help people reconnect in the workplace without taking up too much time or interfering with workflow.
Workplaces can also share mental health resources, highlight employee support programs, or encourage flexible time when possible. The main goal is to make wellbeing feel accessible.
What if I’m not in a great place mentally this January?
It’s completely normal to start the year from a place of exhaustion, heaviness, or uncertainty. January carries a lot of expectations, and none of them require you to feel ready for a reset.
If things feel difficult, lean into small, manageable steps that can help your mental health — like short breaks, moments of quiet, or reaching out to someone you trust. Support from a therapist, friend, or text line can also help you feel less alone.
Your starting point is valid, and there’s no deadline for feeling better.
Is it okay if my January doesn’t feel like a big reset?
Yes. A reset is only helpful when it aligns with your reality and energy, so don’t focus on an arbitrary calendar month. Many people need rest, recalibration, or time to process before they think about new habits or goals.
That’s why Mental Wellness Month encourages a gentler pace, reminding you that progress doesn’t have to be dramatic or immediate. After all, a relaxed, steady January is just as meaningful as a bold, ambitious one.
Calm your mind. Change your life.
Mental health is hard. Getting support doesn't have to be. The Calm app puts the tools to feel better in your back pocket, with personalized content to manage stress and anxiety, get better sleep, and feel more present in your life.
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