Cold weather, limited daylight and endless overcast skies are driving a nationwide dip in mood during the winter months, with more than half of Britons saying they crave more sunlight in their lives.
A survey of 2,000 people conducted by British Gas found that 42 per cent feel more depressed in January than at any other time of year. Nearly half cited the cold as the primary cause, while 37 per cent blamed the long hours of darkness and 34 per cent pointed to a lack of natural sunlight.
The findings revealed that many are responding to the seasonal slump with behaviours that overlap with clinical symptoms of depression. More than four in ten said they spend hours on the sofa, while over a third admitted they simply refuse to get out of bed. A similar proportion reported avoiding social situations, with nearly a quarter ignoring phone calls and 22 per cent spending hours doomscrolling.
Norwich recorded the highest proportion of residents reporting genuine depression during mid to late January, with 25 per cent of those surveyed in the city saying they were struggling. Stoke and Swansea followed closely at 24 per cent, Manchester at 21 per cent and Edinburgh at 16 per cent.
More than half of respondents nationally said they wished January were a cheerier month, while half admitted their tolerance for other people was seriously tested during this period.
The survey results align with broader measures of national wellbeing. Data released by the Office for National Statistics in May last year ranked regions across the UK by happiness, life satisfaction, anxiety levels and sense of worth based on responses from tens of thousands of people.
