When is Blue Monday 2023 and why is it the most depressing day of the year? Here’s everything you need to know

The meaning behind Blue Monday was first published in a 2005 press release from a UK travel company called Sky Travel.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), around 17 per cent of adults experienced some form of depression in the summer of 2021 between July 21 and August 15. This was an increase of 10 per cent compared to before the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, this day is separate from the pandemic. So when is Blue Monday and where did it come from?

When is Blue Monday 2023?

This year Blue Monday falls on Monday, January 16.

Why is it the most depressing day of the year?

The name was coined by psychologist and lifecoach Cliff Arnall who was a tutor at the Centre for Lifelong Learning at the time, who hypothesised that Blue Monday is the saddest day of the year. This was first published in Sky Travel on January 24, 2005.

This concept was concluded following a mix of bad weather, longer winter nights and the aftermath of the festive period.

The day was initially introduced as a promotional tool to encourage people to book holidays.

Scientists have discredited this theory as baseless pseudoscience.