Mondays can be miserable.  Have you heard of Blue Monday?  The third Monday in January is considered the most depressing day of the year. It is a phenomenon which occurs once a year, each and every year without fail. The original date of "Blue Monday" was mathematically calculated in 2005 by Dr. Cliff Arnall a researcher at Cardiff University.  The date was calculated by using many factors, including: weather conditions, debt level (the difference between debt accumulated and our ability to pay), time since Christmas, time since failing our new year’s resolutions, low motivational levels and feeling of a need to take action.

The good news about knowing the facts on the most depressing day of the year is that it does somehow manage to take the sting out of Blue Monday.  Your mood is partially influenced by sunlight, melatonin, serotonin and vitamin D.  Try to get outside or at least sit by a sunny window.  Another way to fight the blues is through diet. Eat healthy, fresh vegetables and avoid sugar.

With the kids home from school and many businesses closed for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day here are our Top 10 ways to ward off the winter blues...

• Stay active.  Take a Winter Hike.
• Eat healthy.  Drink fresh-squeezed juice or find a farmer's market.
• Take in a museum.
• Escape to the movies.
• Boredom busters for the kids.
• Hit the ice-Indoor skating or Outdoor rinks.
• Walk around Main Street.
• Go to the mall.
• Volunteer your time at a charity.
• Find something fun to do.

Let us know how you beat Blue Monday on Long Island. com Forum.