January is perhaps one of the toughest months of the year due to the harsh return to normality following the festive break.

After spending time with friends and family, January and the sudden return to work come around all too quickly.

It is completely normal to feel run down this month: whether it be the weather or the daily grind, it’s natural to feel sluggish and at times miserable.

Seasonal Affective Disorder is something which affects the moods of thousands, these factors all have an impact and are very real and very normal.

What is Blue Monday?

The term originated in 2005 when Sky Travel used an equation to try to calculate what the saddest day of the year was.

Their equation factored in elements like weather, debt levels, time since Christmas, motivation and more, and the date it supposedly produced was the third Monday of January, hence was born, Blue Monday.

However, since then several neuroscientists, mathematicians and general sceptics have laughed off the legitimacy of the equation.

One vocal critic, Dean Burnett, who worked in Neuroscience at the University of Cardiff for five years, wrote in the Guardian: "The equation itself is farcical. It is gibberish, bilge, rubbish, crap, stupid, and any other polite way of saying "utter b******s" that you can think of."

When is Blue Monday this year?

Blue Monday is a day marked out every year according to an equation as apparently the most depressing day of the year.

It falls on the third Monday of January every year, meaning that in 2024 (still feels weird saying that) it falls on January 16.

Five Tips for Overcoming Blue Monday