What is Blue Monday?
With the festive season well behind us, and gloomy skies looming above, January for a myriad of reasons, isn’t the most exhilarating of months. This sentiment is so nationally widespread that in 2005, a UK-based travel agency coined the term ‘Blue Monday’ to mark the most depressing day of the year. The aim was to increase sales of holiday bookings so that consumers would have something to look forward to.
Using CintSnap – a clever way of how we use our Cint platform to survey individuals and understand opinions quickly – we found out if people have heard of the term Blue Monday and what they make of it all.
An equation for melancholy
When coming up with an equation for the date, a few factors were drawn into consideration including:
- Debt levels
- Temperature
- Number of days until the next public holiday
- Days since pay day
- Average hours of daylight
32% of respondents said, ‘Debt levels’ had the biggest impact on levels of low moods, followed by ‘Average hours of daylight’ (23%), and ‘Temperature‘ (17%). With the holiday season in December being traditionally a month of heavy expenditures, due to increased socialising and gift buying, our poll reaffirms how finances understandably holds the biggest impact for many.
Netflix and chill
How do most respondents cheer themselves up?
Almost half (47%) of people polled in the UK said that watching television or a movie was their go-to happy pill. Other quick fixes for a low mood that respondents most identified with were activities that involved physical movement, nature, and engaging with community. This was reflected by ‘exercise’, ‘reach out to friends and family’, and ‘spend time outside’ scoring highest on our survey.
‘Blue Monday’ in the media
How common has this term become as a part of our vocabulary over the past 18 years? At least 37% of people surveyed in the UK have claimed to come across it on an advertisement, with the largest percentage relating it to the travel industry (21%), followed by restaurants & bars (10%) and alcoholic beverages (10%). An indication that it’s intended purpose has been somewhat met.
Are low moods an issue you associate with January or winter months? If yes, what are some of your tried and tested methods to get out of a slump and boost endorphins? Join us in the conversation on our LinkedIn page.
*Our CintSnap survey findings were generated from 300 respondents in the UK.
