Blue Monday
Blue Monday - Monday 16th January 2023
Monday 16th January is known as Blue Monday, luckily for us it is the name given to a day in January by a UK travel company, Sky Travel, to be the most depressing day of the year (their answer to blue Monday is encouraging you to book a holiday). The concept was first published in a 2005 press release from the company, which claimed to have calculated the date using an "equation". It takes into account weather conditions and thus only applies to the Northern Hemisphere. However scientists have not got any evidence of this.
However I know that I struggle in January. We are all told to make resolutions, there is all the media hype surrounding losing weight, start exercising and making this year your best. It for me it is all to much, especially as you are probably exhausted from December and in January it is usually grey and rainy, it still gets dark before you finish work so no wonder we struggle to commit to our goals, we are still in hybernation mode.
Here are some tips for Blue Monday but you can use them for the whole of January
Get Outside
People will often travel to work in darkness and then leave in darkness, with less access to daylight try to get 10mins of daylight when you wake up in the morning or try to leave your desk and go for a short walk at lunchtime to get your much needed dose of light and fresh air." Andrew Huberman has an excellent video here full podcast episode here on this.
Another option is a SAD lamp if you know you are someone who especially struggles. also referred to as light therapy lamps and light boxes. These work by replacing the light from sunshine that you'd normally see in the summer. These mood-boosting lights could be just what you need to help banish the winter blues.
Get Moving
I wouldn’t recommend you pounding the streets in the dark on a January evening because for this time of year we want to be exercising in the morning and daylight hours in winter months, which is best for the nervous system. Without setting excessive goals that are hard to achieve yoga is an excellent way to start your new year. Even if you are just doing regular routine of 10 minutes in the morning as a personal practice.
Get good nutrition
There are studies that believe that high intakes of fruit, vegetables, fish, and whole grains may be associated with a reduced depression risk. Our bodies are always detoxing so I don’t subscribe to the January detox, but I do know that I personally eat richer food than I normally do in December and in January I feel I need to monitor in January, but juicing isn’t what I do, soups, and warm salads give me the nutrients my body needs without putting it into starvation mode.
Listen to a podcast
We are so lucky that these days that there is so many inspirational and motivational podcasts to pick us up if we are feeling down. You could try The Diary Of A CEO hosted by Steven Bartlett or Fearne Cotton's Happy Place and one of my personal favourites is Feel better, Live More by Dr Chatterjee
Have a cup of positivi-TEA
Samaritans is "turning Blue Monday on its head" by encouraging people to connect over a virtual cuppa on "Brew Monday". "Reach out to a friend, family member or colleague for a virtual cuppa and a chat," reads the website. "It doesn’t have to be a Monday or a cup of tea, just taking time to really listen to another person could help them work through what’s on their mind. Because now more than ever, sharing a cuppa is more than a drink – it's about reaching out, checking in and staying connected." You can also use Brew Monday to help raise funds for the charity. Go to samaritans.org for more info.