January sure feels like the longest month in the year. Apart from there not being any popular holidays or celebrations in the first month of the years, the long hours of darkness and cold weather make it feel endless. If you live in the UK, having an idea of when days will start getting longer might just help you get through the month.
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Why January drags on forever
A study cited by news portal, the New Statesman in 2018 showed that the brain frequently releases dopamine – the hormone that’s stimulated by satisfaction, pleasure and other feel-good feelings – in the months of November and December in anticipation of the festive season. You find yourself busy and looking forward to taking some days off work and spending time alone or with loved ones. However, once the season passes, and you have to get back to your normal, everyday life, your dopamine levels drop, you start to feel bored and boredom tends to make time stop.
Longer days are coming
Well, there’s no guarantee that your life will get exciting when January comes to an end (it will eventually), but the seemingly long hours of darkness that characterize this month and December, will make room for more sunshine. According to The i, last Thursday, January 5 was the first day in the month that London experienced more than eight hours of daylight.
At present the UK is experiencing between seven-and-a-half and eight hours of daylight. The first day in London with more than eight hours of daylight comes on Thursday 5 January, with the nine-hour barrier passed on Sunday 29 January
On Tuesday 7 February, the sun will set in London at 5pm for the first time this year, and eight days later there will be more than 10 hours of daylight, according to the article.
Sources used:
New Statesman: The scientific reason why January lasts forever
The i: When does it start getting lighter? What time sunset is in the UK today and when the days will get longer
