6 science backed ways to brighten your Blue Monday

It’s that time again: Everyone is vigorously “circling back” after the break, you’ve eaten the last of the and winter gloom has dug in its heels, making commuting messy and revealing chilly gaps in your outerwear wardrobe. It all culminates on Blue Monday, a day a marketing campaign once cleverly billed as the most depressing day of the year.

And while there’s no concrete science to confirm that the third Monday of January is the worst, anyone facing down slushy sidewalks and unresolved holiday bills would agree it checks out. At this point in the year, you have two choices. You can turn your search history into a catalogue of mid winter misery (“cheap flights to ,” “can you die of cracked lips”, “did Wiarton Willie see his shadow 2024”) or you can do something constructive to lift your mood and beat the SADs.

That’s why we’ve compiled a list of scientifically proven ways to perk you up, pairing research insights with practical suggestions for translating the data into everyday life. (But if you do find some really reasonable flights south, let us know?) Whether it’s watching a child being born, looking out over an epic vista, or taking in a film, song or painting that gives you chills, the feeling of being part of something much larger than you are has tangible physical benefits, according to .

The effects of awe include calming the nervous system and making us more altruistic, thanks to the release of the “love” hormone oxytocin. You may not be able to schedule in an “awe inspiring experience” on a free afternoon, but research shows taking one in vicariously can confer some of the benefits of awe to you, cosy on your couch.

Reading about someone else’s experience that made them gasp in wonder is a good way to go about it: Try Margaret Renkl’s "The Comfort Of Crows," a collection of essays that celebrates the wonder inducing nature to be found in our backyards. The link between exercise and well being is firmly established, and you only need 15 minutes of high intensity movement each day to significantly lower your risk of depression, according to in JAMA Psychiatry.

Not into HIIT or running? An hour of lower intensity exercise, like walking, has the same effect. Winter can be a well being double whammy: We tend to move less and hibernate socially, too. The organization , which launches its inaugural Canadian campaign this year, aims to tackle both by encouraging people to choose a movement challenge — 10 minutes of yoga a day, two sessions of archery practice a week — throughout the month, either as a team or an individual.

Track your progress on a leaderboard while raising money for charity and being part of something bigger. (Is that… awe you’re feeling?) Retreating into your cave and only emerging once the ground has unfrozen is great for grizzlies, terrible for human beings. In fact, social connection reduces your risk of dying by 50 per cent, according to .

Ready to channel your inner Barbie and Ken? Don your best neon knee pads and corral a group of friends to hit up Rollerpony, a year old adults only roller rink in Toronto. The entire thing is a dopamine hit: The bright decor, the DJs spinning tunes, your friends wobbling like newborn deers underneath the spinning disco ball… Ask any toddler who missed a nap: can make you miserable.

Research backs up this common sense: people who got less than 4.5 hours of sleep a night for a week were angrier, sadder, more stressed and “mentally exhausted,” found a . When they got the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep, those symptoms lifted. If you’ve been spending your nights tossing and turning, pay attention to your wind down.

Specifically, as soon the sun sets, try — LED bulbs, your phone or tablet screen — for soothing red light, which stimulates the sleep hormone melatonin. The BioLite Alpen Glow mini lantern, which has a red light setting, is a budget friendly, portable source of warm light. We’ve known that cocoa boosts mood for a while now, but published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry claimed to be the first to find concrete evidence as to why.

Turns out, 85 per cent dark chocolate can have a prebiotic effect on your gut, which translates to an improvement in “negative mental states” courtesy of the link between the digestive system and mental health. Whether you order online or make a field trip to the Leslieville store, bean to bar chocolatier Soul Chocolate has plenty of options to fill that dark chocolate prescription, including an 85 per cent Colombian bar promised to taste like a 70 per cent, and a 100 per cent version for the truly committed.

This is the last thing anyone who's fallen off the wagon wants to hear but evidence suggests cutting out booze can lift the spirits. In fact, women who quit drinking saw a measurable improvement in “mental well being” over a four year period, in published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Swap your nightly glass of Whispering Angel for a drop of the Rose Tinted Glasses tincture from herbalist Apothekary. Its star ingredient is schisandra berry, an adaptogen that’s used in traditional Chinese medicine to decrease stress and boost mood..