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Itโs January. Christmas and the New Yearโs celebrations are truly behind us, and the weather is grim in most parts of Germany. With the daylight hours per day at an annual low, many financial services professionals find this a difficult stretch to get through mentally. This is particularly true on the dreaded Blue Monday, so if you are feeling unusually down today, you are not the only one.
Why Blue Monday Gets You Down
A lack of daylight can affect your usual chemical balance. When itโs dark, the body creates the hormone melatonin as a signal that itโs time to go to sleep. During the short days of winter, this can make you feel tired and sluggish.
In fact, in 2005 a British psychologist developed a formula incorporating factors such as days since Christmas and the weather. The results determined the third Monday in January as the โmost depressing day of the yearโ or โBlue Monday.โ While the formula itself is questionable, scientists agree on the validity of seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
Lacking motivation, feeling low and uninspired, not enjoying usually fun activities and suffering from fatigue are only some of the SAD symptoms affecting around 2.5% of the German population.
How to beat Blue Monday
While long-term experience of the above signals requires consulting a specialist, we collated a few scientifically proven tips on how to work against the winter blues.
Download our guide for 5 easy to implement changes to beat the winter blues and get on the right track again.
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