Millions of Brits believe November is the most miserable month of the year- researchers found half of us reckon dark evenings, plummeting temperatures and the worry of paying for Christmas makes this month ever gloomier than January.
One in five said dragging their winter clothes out of the wardrobe made them miserable, while one in twenty complained the kids are ‘always poorly’ and off school.
The looming onslaught of children nagging for Christmas presents and the pending arrival of the in-laws next month also emerged as key factors in the November slump.
Others said the prospect of having to wait up to nine months for their next sunshine holiday also made November ‘dreadful’.
The study was carried out by Beurer, makers of Brightlight Daylight Lamps that combat seasonal defective disorder.
Spokesman Robert Slade commented:
”Once the clocks go back at the end of October the dark nights really start to take effect.
“If you leave for work relatively early then the chances are your mornings are dark too, which means that if you don’t get time outdoors as part of your job then you are likely to see very little daylight at all during the week.
”That in itself can be very depressing and it’s inevitable that long dark days will have an effect on our moods.
”That combined with the prospect of a costly Christmas and no annual leave can leave Brits feeling down in the dumps.”
Nearly two thirds of people said the gloomy climate made them feel genuinely depressed, but it’s not surprising when nearly HALF of all Brits leave the house in the dark and arrive home when it’s dark.
The poll also found during the week, the typical adult sees just three hours of daylight per day.
However, 68% of workers said they often stay in their place of work from the minute they get in to the minute they leave, meaning they see almost no daylight during the working week.
The poll also found that one in two workers take a lunch break purely to see a bit of daylight, but half said they were far too busy to take a break.
Things don’t improve at the weekend either – more than a quarter of us regularly stay in the house the entire weekend and 45% said they have done this once or twice.
Two thirds of adults polled said they stay in all weekend to chill out and relax and 37% of people stay indoors rather than brave the elements.
Interestingly, 35% of those polled experience a lack of energy during the winter months, 42% said that don’t have enough sleep and 33% suffer from subdued moods.
A resourceful 17% of adults who took part in the study said they purposely booked a foreign holiday in the winter months in the hope of getting some sunshine.
However, 52% of Brits said they would like nothing more than to go in to hibernation during the winter months- as a result, an unsurprising half of all Brits said our climate was the worst thing about being British.
Seasonal Affective Disorder affects 7%of the population between September and April- symptoms include depression, sleep problems, lethargy, over eating, loss of concentration, social problems, anxiety, loss of libido and mood changes.
Robert Slade continued:
”Brightlight Daylight Lamps can help with the symptoms of S.A.D and light therapy has been shown to be effective in up to 85 per cent of diagnosed cases. Being around a lightbox for 1-2 hours a day during the darker months can significantly improve the symptoms.
”The amount of time we spend outdoors in the daylight in the week is restricted somewhat by work and looking after kids, but at the weekend we really need to be making the most of our time off.
”Although November seems to be a depressing month and despite the fact we can’t change the gloomy weather we should be making the best of the situation and embracing the cosy nights in.”
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