Life News
Blue Monday 2026: Belgian, Greek and Argentine outlets agree it began as a travel advert
Monday, 19 January was this year's “Blue Monday”, the third Monday of January, often billed as the most depressing day of the year. Several outlets used the date to explain where the idea came from, and all three reports below call it marketing rather than science.
The Brussels Times said the concept dates to 2005, when the British travel company Sky Travel paid Cliff Arnall, then linked to Cardiff University, to devise a formula. Its variables include weather, debt, time since Christmas and time since New Year's resolutions failed. Because none of the units are defined, the paper said, the formula cannot be verified.
“nothing more than a marketing ploy” — The Brussels Times
Argentina's La Nación explained that the study was commissioned by an advertising agency for Sky Travel, which wanted the best moment to promote summer holiday bookings, and listed eight factors in the formula, including sleep and relaxation time. Greece's To Vima wrote that Arnall later said the term was “never intended to stigmatize this day”, and linked the January slump to seasonal affective disorder, with symptoms such as low energy and carbohydrate cravings.
How each outlet framed it
- The Brussels Times — a debunk: a pseudoscientific formula and psychologists' criticism of using depression to sell products.
- La Nación — a local twist: in Argentina and the rest of the southern hemisphere it is summer, so the “sad winter” idea does not fit.
- To Vima — the science nearby: what seasonal affective disorder is and why experts urge caution.
Where the numbers differ: To Vima says Arnall coined the term in 2004, while The Brussels Times and La Nación date it to 2005, with La Nación naming 24 January 2005 as the day Sky Travel announced it. The outlets also list different sets of variables in the formula.