The Bleakest Day Of The Year

Toronto Star

Widely known as Blue Monday, this year it falls on Jan. 17. The origins of Blue Monday can be traced back to Cliff Arnall, loosely affiliated with Cardiff University.

Arnall, it seems at the behest of Sky Travel, signed his name to a marketing formula that blamed the combination of weather, holiday debt, and the inevitable failure of our New Year’s resolutions for a widespread, crushing case of the blues.

You get the idea. Cute, overly crafted formula from marketing agency + information on cheap airline tickets to sunny destinations = sales.

Arnall also used a similar formula (we use the term loosely) to sell ice cream.

Even if we disregard Arnall’s so-called science, we can all admit weight gain, holiday debt and lack of sun can have a serious impact on how we feel.

To demonstrate our devotion to you (melded with our love of research journals), we have created a list of tips you can employ to improve your mood.

Do Yoga: According to Dr. Chris Streeter from the Boston University School of Medicine, yoga can actually have a greater positive impact on your mood than other types of exercise. Streeter and his team found that after yoga, people had higher than usual levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA, “a chemical in the brain that helps to regulate nerve activity” according to anarticle in Science Daily discussing the findings.

“GABA activity is reduced in people with mood and anxiety disorders, and drugs that increase GABA activity are commonly prescribed to improve mood and decrease anxiety,” it reads.

Talk to your boss: If there are challenges in a certain area or just too much work, take time to really think about it and break it down to find solutions,” says Julie Holden, vice president of employer services with Banyan Work Health Solutions Inc. “You might want to talk to your manager.” Don’t just focus on the problems, she says. “Try to present solutions so you can work through them together.”

Create a healthy work culture: Holden suggests setting up group exercise like a walking or running group or an ice skating club at work and bringing healthy snacks to eat at your desk. She pointed to a recent study produced by pension and benefits consulting firm Towers Watson that proved healthy employees means higher productivity and profits.

“Companies that are doing more to help employees lead a healthy lifestyle are seeing benefits in terms of financial performance in terms of the company and increased stability in their human capital,” she said.

Chow down on chocolate: Chocolate has long been perceived as a mood elevator, but not exactly for the reasons you think.

In an article published in Science Daily Professor Peter Rogers, from the University of Bristol, UK notes that raw chocolate does contain chemicals associated with elevated mood including serotonin, tryptophan, phenylethylamine, tyramine and cannabinoids.

But “many of these compounds exist in higher concentrations in other foods with less appeal than chocolate,” particularly when one measures the levels in mass produced, high fat, high sugar versions we get on most store shelves.

Thus, your Snickers bar is more likely to give you a rush from sugar and guilt than mind-altering chemicals. But who are we to deny you any pleasure.

However, totally non-scientific testing has proven that multiple trips to Soma chocolatemaker in the Distillery District are guaranteed to improve your mood.

Get some sun: Bright, summerlike light is a good way to fight the blues, or at least stave off the dreaded disease of winter known as Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Prof. Noga Kronfeld-Schor of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Zoology with Prof. Haim Einat of the University of Minnesota used two groups of Fat Sand Rats to prove it. The professors put the rats into two groups, exposing one to light similar to that in summer months. The second got the equivalent of winter light. That group “behaved in ways similar to depressed humans, exhibiting despair, reduced social interactions and increased anxiety.” The anxious rats were also the subject of a Science Daily article.

Think like a kid: This is less of a scientific study and more of a distraction. The GrimsbyTelegraph filmed a bunch of school kids telling silly jokes to combat Blue Monday. Laughter really does boost your mood so seek out a funny friend, or head to a local comedy show.

Think like a teenager: Nothing says Blue Monday like making a mixed CD, or playlist. Good suggestions to start: “Blue Monday” by New Order and “Blue Monday” by Fats Domino. Alternate suggestions include “Manic Monday” by the Bangles or “Come Monday” by Jimmy Buffett.

Think like an adult (or teenager): Sex provides exercise, human contact, orgasm and it’s typically free. No further explanation necessary, one hopes. But if you do need more details,Forbes magazine gives specific information backing up those points in an article entitled “Is Sex Necessary” on Forbes.com.

Seek out positive people: If you are feeling blue perhaps acknowledging you have a problem will help. In celebration of the bleakest day of the year multiple people have started websites with suggestions on how to make the day a more joyous event. The nice people at www.bluemonday.org in the UK have selected Jan. 24 as the day they try to improve the moods of people around them.

On another note, I hurt my hammy doing yoga yesterday.......no running today.  Seeing that I drifted back up to 178, I'll ride instead.