How to stay positive on the most depressing day of the year

CINCINNATI - There's a chill in the air Monday, the sun was hidden by the clouds and it's just the beginning of the work week. If you're feeling down, you're not alone.

This Monday is Blue Monday, which is known as the most depressing day of the year.  It was coined Blue Monday by Cliff Arnall, a researcher and motivation expert, according to the Blue Monday website.

The date was devised using a mathematical formula:
It contains six factors

1. Debt
2. Time since Christmas
3. Weather
4. Low Motivational Levels
5. Feeling of a need to take action
6. Time since failing our New Year's resolutions

Some say that Blue Monday was a ploy from travel agencies to get people to start booking vacations.

However it started, here are a few ways to beat the Blue Monday blues:

• Increase your social activity:  experts say that more time interacting with others can decrease feelings of isolation, which is a symptom of depression
• Do something nice for someone else:  This can increase your overall self-happiness
• Get as much natural sunlight as possible
• Exercise: This will release endorphins in your brain

How do you beat the winter blues? Let us know in the comments section below.