No excuses for not enjoying today – it’s the happiness high-point of the year

WITH tricky Brexit negotiations ahead, gloomy economic forecasts and no chance of a Briton winning Wimbledon this year, there may seem little to smile about.

But, according to experts, today is the happiest day of the year, with the UK reaching peak cheerfulness thanks to the good weather, summer holidays and light evenings.

Dr Cliff Arnall, who coined the term Blue Monday in 2005 to describe the most miserable day of the year – the third Monday in January – used a similar formula to find out when the UK is at its most content. He discovered that July 14 is when well-being is at its utmost, as the end of the working week coincides with the beginning of the summer holidays and long warm days allow people to spend more time with friends and family outdoors.

Teenagers who have taken exams in May and June are also feeling much calmer by July as schools and colleges close for the summer and results are over a month away.

The cabin fever associated with the end of the six-week break is also many weeks away and children have not had enough time to get bored and restless.

Dr Arnall said: “The start of the school holidays has a positive effect on the household. Family stress can be significantly reduced as the usual hassle of getting children ready for school then joining the rush hour school traffic stops during the holiday period.

“This reduction in traffic congestion also benefits people without children, or whose children have grown up, as the roads are clearer and car trips are more relaxed.”