July Is The Saddest Month

Media release 15th July 2007

Its official – we’re more miserable in winter and July is the worst month for suffering the winter blues.

According to the latest independent research commissioned by Johnson & Johnson brand Neutrogena, July is the month in which 20 per cent of Kiwis are struck by the winter blues, followed by August on 13 per cent.

The nationwide research was conducted by Consumer Link (a division of Colmar Brunton) for Neutrogena and studied women’s skincare habits during the winter months.

The research also found Monday-itis also affects the nation, with 41 per cent of Kiwis saying that the first day of the working week is also the day they are most likely to feel blue.

“If you leave and return home from work in the dark, don’t get enough light while working, have high stress, rarely socialise and eat stodgy food, the blues are likely to creep up on you,” says respected mental health therapist Leanne French.

Creature comforts reign supreme during the cold season, so it comes as no surprise then that 30 per cent of Kiwi women say their favourite way to alleviate the winter blues is to spend time with friends, followed by 29 per cent who prefer a night in on the couch with a hot chocolate and their favourite movie! A further 20 per cent relieve the winter blues with a warm bath, facial or massage.

The shortening of daylight hours and lack of sunlight in winter triggers symptoms such as sleep problems, lethargy, overeating and mood swings, says French.

While we feel down in the dumps we’re also less likely to give our skin the attention and care it deserves. The majority of Kiwi women interviewed in the Neutrogena survey confirmed that during winter they break two of skincare’s cardinal rules – not using a sunscreen and failing to remove their makeup before bed.

Seventy two percent of women surveyed said they used sunscreen less than once a week or never between June and August. Only 1 in every 4 women surveyed said they apply sunscreen on a daily basis during the winter months.

It is this result that has Dr Kevin McKerrow, President of the New Zealand Dermatologist Society worried.

“People just seem to forget that during winter the sun doesn’t go away and neither does skin cancer.”

The research also found that nearly a third of Kiwi women said they never take their makeup off before bed, with 48% of women confirming they did.

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