As the clocks go back this weekend we’re getting closer to the coldest winter ever predicted in Britain.
Over half (fifty-three per cent) of all Brits say they’re moodier in the winter with six out of ten (fifty-nine per cent) claiming their friends and family are grumpier too.
Bradford and Sheffield residents have topped a poll to find the most fed-up people in Britain, with sixty-two per cent getting the hump during the dark winter months.
Liverpudlians were a close third with sixty-one percent, followed by Londoners on fifty-four percent, according to the study by Kellogg’s.
Almost half of Brits (forty-eight per cent) find it harder to get out of bed during this period too, plus nearly a quarter (twenty-four per cent) of us do less exercise and thirty-four per cent even cancel social events because they’re feeling so grumpy.
The cereal brand quizzed 2,000 people from across Britain to uncover our attitudes during the dark and dingy winter months, and to look at our understanding of the relationship between sunlight, mood and food.
The study found that twenty-two per cent of Brits get less than an hour of sunshine a day winter, which can contribute to our moods plummeting.
Surprisingly a fifth (twenty per cent) of people don’t realise we get the ‘sunshine vitamin’ vitamin D from exposure to sunlight at all, with thirteen per cent of people wrongly crediting vitamin D for giving us sun tans.
The results revealed that thirty-seven per cent of Brits have no idea that certain foods can give you a vitamin D boost in bad weather. Over half of them (fifty-two per cent) would change their diet if they thought it could make them happier and healthier.
Almost half (forty-eight per cent) of us do not realise that vitamin D keeps kids’ bones strong and healthy and nearly a fifth (seventeen per cent) do not associate any health benefits with vitamin D at all.
Among its benefits, vitamin D helps with the body’s consumption of calcium and boosts our immune systems.
TV dance star Ola Jordan has helped launch the research by installing a vending machine powered by bad weather on Brighton Pier ahead of the clocks going back this weekend, to ensure people get a boost of vitamin D during the dull winter months ahead.
Every time it gets cloudy the device dispenses a free bowl of Corn Flakes, which are fortified with vitamin D. Ola, 32, said: “As a dancer I have a keen interest in nutrition and eating well. Bone health is especially important for me and I was shocked to learn how many people in the UK don’t realise how important vitamin D is to keep our bones and immune systems strong. Living in a cloudy country like the UK means we can’t rely on the sunshine for our vitamin D intake and we must find other ways such as food to top up.”
A Kellogg’s spokesperson said it was vital that people educate themselves and their children to improve general family health and wellbeing as the nights draw in.
“This research shows there is still a lack of awareness around how and where we get our vitamin D intake. Vitamin D is so important for general wellbeing and especially bone health for kids we need to make sure we get it in other ways during the dark winter months. Foods such as fortified breakfast cereals are a fantastic way to get a boost of vitamin D when we miss out on that important sun time.”
The top 10 cities are (in order of grumpiest):
Joint 1st – Bradford and Sheffield
3nd – Liverpool
4th – London
5th – Edinburgh
6th – Birmingham
7th – Manchester
8th – Leeds
Joint 9th – Bristol and Glasgow
