January 15, 2024 will be celebrated as “Blue Monday,” or the “saddest day of the year,” for reasons that many confirm through their experiences.
For many people, Monday is the most difficult day of the week because you have to get up early in order to be able to return to everyday learning and work after a few days of rest.
However, the third Monday in January has also had a very special meaning for several years.
Several factors have been analyzed that identify this Monday as the saddest day, all because of the work done by a researcher.
How did “Blue Monday” come about?
The so-called Blue Monday emerged from an approach by Cliff Arnall, a professor at the Center for Lifelong at Cardiff University.
More than two decades ago, the psychologist proposed using a mathematical formula to determine which day was the saddest of the year.
In this way, this researcher took into account several factors such as the weather, debts acquired in December, vacations and the motivation that was present for the new year.
After his analysis, he concluded that the third Monday in January satisfies this condition.
The third Monday in January is considered the saddest day of the year. Photo: Freepik
See more: Living from sadness on the Internet: The phenomenon of “sadfishing”
The formula for the Sad Monday theory proposed by Arnall was: (W+(Dd))xTQ/MxNA), Where W means weather, D (Debts), D (monthly income), T (time since Christmas) and Q (Time when New Year's resolutions were abandoned).
The truth is that this formula for the saddest day of the year lacks scientific support, but is becoming more popular every year.
In addition, the date has also been used by companies to design a marketing strategy and offer a solution to the feeling of sadness that people are facing.
In fact, the term became popular in 2005 with an advertising campaign by the company Sky Travel, with which it wanted to compensate for the decline in reservations in 2004.
However, many agree that Monday would actually be the most difficult day of the week, but everything can vary depending on people's daily schedule.
What factors could lead to “Blue Monday”?
Feeling depressed, tired or sad at the beginning of the year can have various reasons based on people's experiences.
For example him Climatic factor The situation faced by part of the world's population in the northern hemisphere could also influence this sentiment.
Added to this is the debt that many people have to take on when they return from vacation after spending Christmas and New Year.
The National Geographic portal also states that high sugar consumption at Christmas promotes the release of dopamine in the brain.
“As some studies show, symptoms such as headaches, fatigue or mood swings may occur when we dramatically stop eating sugar, and especially after a period of excessive consumption,” said NatGeo.
During the first few weeks of January, students and staff return to work, and returning to these routines and schedules can also create feelings of frustration and stress.
You might be interested in:
