Dr Cliff Arnall: July 14th is the happiest day of the year
- Dr Cliff Arnall calculated the cheeriest day of the year using a simple formula
- July 14 raises the most smiles because of good weather and extra daylight hours
- The start of the weekend and school summer holidays also makes the day cheery
- And teenagers who had exams in May and June are feeling happy again by July
Daisy Dunne For Mailonline
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With Andy Murray crashing out of Wimbledon and rocky Brexit negotiations on the horizon, it may seem like there is not much to celebrate.
But things might be looking up as today is the happiest day of the year for people in the UK, according to a leading psychologist.
Dr Cliff Arnall said July 14 is the cheeriest day on the calendar thanks to a combination of good weather, long daylight hours and the start of the holidays.
Dr Cliff Arnall said July 14 is the cheeriest day on the calendar thanks to a combination of good weather, long daylight hours and the start of the holidays (stock image)
Dr Arnall, a former lecturer from Cardiff University who now advises the NHS on happiness and well-being, has created a simple formula to find the day when cheeriness reaches its peak.
He has discovered that July 14 is when well-being reaches its peak in the UK, as the end of the working week meets with warmer weather and more daylight hours.
He added that many children are close to starting their school summer holidays, which also raises levels of happiness for families.
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And teenagers who had gruelling exams in May and June have now began their well-deserved break, he added.
‘The start of the school holidays has a positive effect on the household,’ Dr Arnall told the Telegraph.
‘Family stress can be significantly reduced as the usual hassle of getting children ready for school then joining the rush hour school traffic stops during the holiday period.
Many children are now close to starting their school summer holidays, which raises levels of happiness for families (stock image)
DR ARNALL’S FEEL-GOOD FORMULA: K + C + P + (A5 x W) – Eo
K + C + P + (A5 x W) – Eo
- K = Kindness – giving, sharing, helping others out including our friends and family and people we don’t know. Kindness is one of the very best ways of feeling good.
- C = Calmness – household stress is low due to schools breaking up and spending more time with family. Also children are excited to be on holiday and aren’t bored yet. Calmer people laugh more, sleep better and eat healthier food.
- P = Planning – outings, trips at home and abroad, looking forward to breaks and time off, organising picnics, BBQs, beaches, extended periods of time with family and friends.
- A5 (or 5A) – this factor is made up of five separate but related factors:
- A1 Authenticity – knowing what makes you tick, being happy with who you are
- A2 Appreciation – being consciously aware of the good things we have in life
- A3 Acceptance – accepting life in all its twists and turns, stressful situations pass
- A4 Affection – regularly showing genuine affection to people close to you
- A5 Achievement – successfully completing things that are important, big or small
- W = Warmth – this time of year is characterised by warm sunny dry days, physical warmth leads to psychological feelings of wellbeing and freedom especially when combined with spending time outside. Wearing fewer layers makes us feel lighter.
- Eo (or EO) = Emotional obstacles – people feel at their best when they have reduced anxiety to low manageable levels, removed most of their self-doubt and feelings of not being good enough. Removing emotional obstacles leads to greater confidence, more control and happier more satisfying days.
‘This reduction in traffic congestion also benefits people without children, or whose children have grown up, as the roads are clearer and car trips are more relaxed.’
Previous research has suggested that happiness peaks on a Friday, with levels of the stress hormone cortisol falling throughout the day as the weekend approaches.
Dr Arnall considered a range of factors in his formula including emotional connectedness, levels of kindness, honesty and fun.
The mathematical formula for happiness can be summed up as ‘K + C + P + (A5 x W) – Eo’.
In this formula, ‘K’ stands for kindness, ‘C’ for calmness, ‘P’ for planning (of events), ‘A5’ for achievement, ‘W’ for warmth and ‘Eo’ for emotional obstacles.
A combination of kindness, calmness, planned events and achievement, which is dependent on the weather, minus any emotional obstacles, tells us what the happiest day of the year will be.
The expert, who is based in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, is also behind the Blue Monday formula for the most depressing day of the year in January.
He has recently updated his happiness formula to exclude levels of financial wealth after many studies have shown that money doesn’t correspond with happiness.
‘The world today is a very different place to 2005,’ said Dr Arnall.
‘We are now in a time where massive sociopolitical national and international changes force us to examine where we are heading.
‘The formula addresses the core human fundamental issues head on to help people build and maintain their happiness and well-being in spite of a very uncertain world.’
The new formula was developed by Dr Arnall and Jurys Inn, which has developed a Stay Happy Guide available in hotels.
…AND BRITAIN’S GLOOMIEST DAY FALLS ON JANUARY 16
This year’s ‘Blue Monday’ worse worse than ever thanks to Donald Trump, Brexit and celebrity deaths, according to the expert who came up with the formula
Dr Arnall previously calculated that Britain’s gloomiest day of the year, also known as ‘Blue Monday’, fell on January 16.
This is the day that people are at their loneliest, debt levels are at their highest after Christmas and the weather is at its worst.
Dr Arnall said this year’s Blue Monday was worse than ever thanks to Donald Trump, Brexit and celebrity deaths.
‘Credit card bills are a big problem after Christmas, snow, ice and floods are causing worries, and many feel a lack of motivation,’ Dr Arnall said.
‘Other extra factors this year are Trump and Brexit causing uncertainty and increasing people’s fears.
‘The deaths of so many celebrities, many in their 50s and 60s, has also worried people by reminding them of their own mortality.’
Dr Arnall said people could stop being unhappy by focussing on things they could change in their lives.
‘The easiest way to be happy is spending more time with people who love you and like you as you are,’ he said.
‘Use Blue Monday as a springboard for change, whether it is to lose weight, stop smoking, embark on a dream or change job.
‘Make the most of your life and live it to the full.’
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