Change, without the rush: Start with stability

January rarely begins with a clean slate for the body. It begins with carry over. Fatigue lingers. Sleep feels unsettled. Energy drops without an obvious reason. People return to work expecting momentum and instead struggle to focus or maintain routines they were eager to restart.

According to Dr Adenike ‘Omo’ Dairo, General Physician and Founder at Mentra, this gap between intention and capacity is one of the main reasons habits fail before they have time to take hold.

Small disruptions to basic health habits quietly undermine follow-through. Dr Dairo says dehydration, irregular meals, and poor sleep have a much bigger impact than people realise. Skipped or delayed meals lower energy and increase irritability. Poor sleep affects focus and emotional regulation.

Dehydration adds headaches and fatigue into the mix. “When the body feels off, even simple habits feel harder to stick to,” she says. What looks like a motivation problem is often a physical one.

January also brings a familiar pattern of overcorrection. From a medical point of view, Dr Dairo sees the consequences quickly. “I see a lot of injuries and exhaustion in January,” she says. Patients go from very little activity to intense exercise or strict diets almost overnight.

The body does not adapt well to that pace. Pushing too hard too quickly often leads to injury, illness, or burnout, which then sets people back further than where they started.

Stress compounds the issue, even when people do not consciously recognise it. Dr Dairo explains that stress often shows up physically rather than emotionally. Headaches are common. Neck and shoulder pain increase. Digestive issues flare. Sleep becomes lighter or more fragmented.

Some patients notice palpitations or worsening of existing conditions. “Many patients don’t label it as stress,” she says. “But the body makes it clear.” When stress is ignored, people tend to push harder, adding strain instead of support.

Before making lifestyle changes, Dr Dairo encourages patients to understand their baseline. The most useful information usually comes from simple questions rather than complex plans. “I usually tell patients to start with the basics,” she says. How are you sleeping. Are you eating regularly. Are you drinking enough water.

What does your energy look like across the day. These markers give a clearer picture of readiness for change than ambition alone. Simple checks such as blood pressure or weight trends can also help track patterns over time. “You don’t need to overcomplicate it,” she says.

From her experience, a healthy start to the year looks calm rather than corrective. It involves returning to regular sleep, eating properly, and moving consistently instead of intensely. Recovery is treated as essential, not optional. “It looks realistic,” Dr Dairo says. The patients who make lasting progress tend to ease into change rather than trying to fix everything in January.