Blue Monday: why is this day the most depressing of the year?

Verified on 01/16/2024 by Alexane Flament, Editor

Are you not in good spirits? It’s normal, it’s the 3rd^e Monday in January, the most depressing day of the year!

A day that accumulates negative waves

In winter it is always more difficult to be good mood than summer. The days are shorter and it’s cold. But when the 3rd arrives^e Monday in January, depression is at its peak. This is why it is called the “ Blue Monday “. This Monday, according to serious scientific research, we have every reason in the world to be depressed. But what are these reasons?

First of all, it’s a Monday. The tree is gone and the Christmas festivities are behind us. What we have left of Christmas is often an empty wallet and a few extra kilos…

Weather-wise, it’s not any better: rain, gray weather, cold wind… Summer is still far away, too far away to make us smile again. For the record, it was Cliff Arnal, an Irish psychologist and professor at Cardiff University, who established that this Monday was the gloomiest of the year.

Hoax or scientific considerations

It was he who developed a mathematical formula capable of establishing the day when we are most likely to be depressed. This formula takes into account several factors : W Weather, Dd debt (difference between debts and repayment capacity), T Time (time since Christmas), Q (time since our New Year’s resolutions), M (Lack of motivation) , Na (need to move):

[W=D-d)] x T^Q
———————
M x N_A.

These considerations may appear to be extremely serious, but it should nevertheless be noted that this work was carried out for the purposes of an advertising campaign by the British tour operator Sky Travel, which had the slogan: “ Against the ambient gloom, treat yourself to a getaway in the sun ».

What is true in this matter is that The best way to combat depression in January is to prepare for your summer vacation!