Tired Brits are suffering from a bout of self-imposed January blues, with many struggling to get back into the routine of everyday life following the extended Christmas break, according to a new study of the nation's sleeping, waking and breakfast habits.
The study of more than 2,000 adults, conducted by Alpro, has found that, for many Brits, the back to work routine has been one of the toughest for years, with more than half of us burning the candle at both ends as we struggle to reacclimatise to the busy back to work schedule, leaving us feeling lacklustre and unmotivated as a result.
Despite the nation's alarm clocks waking the average British worker at 6.47am, it seems that many of us are also still staying up late the night before, with the average bedtime passing the 11pm mark and the average worker not managing to get to sleep until after midnight.
As a result, it appears workers are really struggling to get out of bed during the cold, dark mornings, with the snooze button on the nation's alarm clocks and mobile phones being pressed an astonishing eight times, equating to an hour of snoozing in total, before they finally haul themselves out of bed.
The nation's post-Christmas late to bed, late to rise culture also appears to be taking its toll on productivity, with only one in three of us claiming to have been 'extremely productive' since returning to work.
Indeed, the majority of workers openly admit they are struggling to get back into the swing of things, with almost half reporting that they have only been 'slightly productive' since the festive break, one in ten claiming to have been 'not that productive', and one in twenty brazenly conceding that they have been 'not productive at all'.
Alpro dietitian Kate Arthur explains "Our findings show a worrying insight into the nation's habits and people's state of mind following the enjoyable seasonable break. We were expecting to find that morale may be a little bit lower than usual, but not to this extent."
"We don't appear to be taking good care of ourselves, with late bedtimes, poor morning routines, and other bad bedtime habits clearly taking their toll. The New Year is typically the period when we all look to make changes to our usual habits and improve our health and wellbeing, but so far we seem to be struggling."
"Our job now is clearly to help inspire as many as possible to make long-term healthy lifestyle choices that can help improve both body and mind following the usual excesses of the Christmas break. It's all about making simple changes to your usual routine and that includes thinking about your bedtime ritual right through to those first few moments when you wake up."
"Whether it's turning up the music or turning off the snooze button, avoiding screens at bed time and early morning, making your bed or, all-importantly, taking the time to whip up a tasty plant-based breakfast. Even the smallest of changes can help us to feel happier, more positive and better able to tackle the day, not just in January, but all year round."
Indeed, while the study found that the average worker claimed to be in bed by 11.09pm, it seems that many of us are still awake for more than an hour before finally dropping off at 00.11am, with one in five of us regularly watching TV or videos in bed, a similar number checking social media accounts, and more than one in ten catching up on the news or listening to music. One in twenty workers even claim they are still checking work-related emails after getting to bed past the 11pm mark.
Alpro's study also shows how, when we do finally get to sleep, there is a serious knock on effect for the following morning. Despite one in four of those surveyed admitting that enjoying a healthy breakfast makes them feel great and sets them up for the day, Alpro's study has also found that that two out of five workers are regularly leaving the house without breakfast.
One in three said breakfast was the first thing to be sacrificed when running late in the morning, while one in four admitted to having foregone a shower in order to ensure they weren't late for work, while one in ten even claimed to have missed out on brushing their teeth occasionally in order to make it into work on time.
While health and wellbeing might be front of mind for many in January, one in four workers said their post-Christmas routine had also left them feeling 'not that healthy', while one in fifteen admitted to feeling 'not healthy at all'.
Alpro, the expert in plant-based eating, is encouraging people to brighten their mornings with its New Year campaign 'Make Over Your Morning', which is all about making small changes to the start of each day to make breakfast through to bed time that little bit brighter.
Brits are finding it hard to get back into a routine after the Christmas and New Year break