Are you feeling a little blue this January? Don't worry, many others are feeling it too!
The third Monday in January, also known as Blue Monday, is said to be the most depressing day of the year. A combination of post-holiday bills, the abandonment of New Year's resolutions, the lack of exposure to sunlight and cold weather are to blame. People tend to feel less energetic, less motivated and maybe a little more down than usual.
Here are a few tips that will help you combat the winter blues:
· Get out in the sun for 10 to 20 minutes per day.
· Exercise—as little as 10 minutes a day will help lift your mood.
· Use a light therapy lamp.
· Eat healthy, balanced meals.
· Do your best to get 7 to 8 hours of good, regular sleep.
· Meditate—regular meditation is one of the best ways to heal depression.
How do you combat Blue Monday?
Oh wow, that's neat about it being a public holiday in your country. Ouch regarding the sunburn, however sounds like a beautiful day you had outside ☀️
It's only a public holiday for the Wellington region. Each region in NZ has an anniversary day public holiday.
Thanks for sharing, I really need to learn more about NZ and all the regions. Someday I would love to visit, and Australia too (since they are only 4,155 km away from each other).
Does 4,155 km sound like a small distance to you? West Island (Australia) is great to visit if you get the right time of year. :P
LOL no, but if I am going to travel 13,056 km to New Zealand, I may as well go another 4,155 km to visit Australia. A teleporter/transporter would sure come in handy for all my bucket list/wish list adventures.
Be sure to stagger any recurring bill due dates (and track what they are!) so you don't get hit with one massive "pay the bills" Monday. :-D
Great tip @Dave_Liao - thanks for sharing!
Did not realize this was "a thing" until now! Partly explains the apparent Blue 3-Day Weekend I just had...
I definitely need more natural light in my life.
I continue to love all your articles as I run across them!
Sorry to hear that @Darryl St_ Pierre - now you know why you felt the way you did. I agree, it's finally sunny here today but -24 windchill so not really fit to go for a walk outside. My friend has a Happy Light by verilux on her desk and she loves it. I may need to get one too. Thanks for your kind words about my articles, means so much :)
One way to combat it is to visit Australia - it's hard to be cold and miserable in 30-40 degree heat.
Pity it's not the 4th Monday of January though - that would be our Australia Day holiday this year!
I definitely have Australia on my bucket list - during my winter and your summer of course :)
I had to laugh at myself after reading this... being American and trapped in the Fahrenheit mindset, 30-40 is not much of a change. Then Australia, and Celsius, and Summer kicked in.
Lol that temperature is so confusing, my parents grew up on Farenheit, but Canada changed to Celsius many years ago so it can be confusing when I travel to US. If I mention to people that it is 2 degrees back home they give me the strangest looks lol Wow 30-40 is super hot in Celsius, what a summer. In PEI we are lucky to get 25-30 in summer, but it is my favourite kind of weather, not sticky.
@Jodi LeBlanc What an insightful post! I genuinely didn't realize this was a thing til now. For me personally, I find regular exercise, 8 hours of sleep, and a good book/podcast/video game to be really helpful.
Thank you so much for sharing @Kevin Bui - I am trying harder to get more sleep. I aim for 8 hours but tend to wake up super early, missing out on that last hour of REM.