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Fitness & Health

06th Dec 2018

More than half of UK already tired of Christmas, survey finds

Jean-Emile Jammine

The research shows that more than half the nation already feels Christmas fatigue by early December

A recently conducted has found that 60 percent of Brits are already ‘over’ Christmas by the end of the first week of December.

Whether it’s too many Christmas parties, too much alcohol, a plethora of Christmas adverts or a mince pie too many, 83 percent of people find that they have pigged out well beyond their limit – a month in advance of the main event.

Celebrations across the United Kingdom generally tend to start in early November and the parties take their toll, so much so that many are already sorting out their New Year’s health resolutions.

The month of overindulging leaves a third of Brits feeling tired and unhealthy, with 42 percent feeling bloated, 41 percent sluggish and 33 percent left feeling generally exhausted, said the survey conducuted by Gordon’s Ultra Low Alcohol Gin & Tonic.

Almost a quarter (23%) intend to moderate their calories, 17 percent are planning a new fitness regime, 12 percent will join a gym and one in ten plan to moderate their alcohol consumption.

Staying true to New Year’s resolutions also seems to be quite a sticking point. Two thirds (67%) of those polled admitted they find these promises hard to maintain throughout the whole year, with a quarter of Brits admitting they tend to give up before January is over. A third (29%) confessed it’s hard to suddenly cut out all the treats and indulgences that December brings.

In fact, eight out of ten people (83%) say that they feel December and January are months of two extremes, with two thirds (67%) claiming they believe they’d feel better and be happier if they could practise moderation and balance in what they eat and drink throughout the year.

It seems as if we are being influenced by Christmas fomo.

According to Clinical Psychologist, Rachel Andrews: “We have so many unrealistic expectations about Christmas – idealised images from films, TV and social media  – which lead us to think that we should be celebrating Christmas in a certain way.”

“When we can’t achieve these ideals, it triggers concern that we aren’t ‘living our best lives’ which can lead to feeling pressured into trying to do everything – which is exhausting and unsustainable.”

And as much as we would like to go big or go home, Andrews says this doesn’t have to be the case: “We need to feel confident that we can make individual choices about how we want to spend the festive period and the new year to ensure we find a balance that works for us – it doesn’t have to be all or nothing.”