TODAY (Monday, January 15), is billed as ‘Blue Monday’ – supposedly the ‘unhappiest day of the year’.
It was all started 20 years ago by psychologist Dr Cliff Arnall who came up with a formula of factors relating to this time of year to back up the claim.
It was originally said to have been created by Dr Arnall as a marketing ploy to help travel agents sell holidays.
It is always held on the third Monday in January which relates to the formula.
So what is the formula?
The formula is – [W + (D-d)] x TQ M x NA
The different variables in the equation are:
W – Weather – The often cold days at this time of year, dark nights and less daylight.
D – Debt – The amount of debt people are in after Christmas and new year.
d – Monthly salary – For a lot of people, who get paid monthly at the end of the month, this is the furthest day after the previous pay packet and to the next one.
T – The amount of time since Christmas – People start to feel that the festive season was a long time ago and for many, all that is left is paying off the expense.
Q – Failed quit attempts – By the third Monday in January, a lot of people’s resolutions, health kicks and fitness regimes may have faltered.
M – Low motivational levels – With all the aspects above, people naturally struggle to get motivated at this time of year.
NA – The need to take action to combat the winter blues.
The weather for Blue Monday
The bad news is temperatures across the West Midlands will not rise above 0°C or -1°C and, with the wind chill factor it will feel more like -5°C. The sunrise will be at 8.12am and sunset will be at 4.23pm – meaning eight hours, 11 minutes of daylight.
The good news, however, is that we will have a lot of sunlight – from 9am to 5pm.
