56 per cent of Britons in a recent poll are reaching for the remote and turning to their favourite movies and TV shows to combat the lockdown blues.
The survey, commissioned during the current lockdown and ahead of Blue Monday – 18th January – also found that 92 per cent of people have recently experienced the lockdown blues. The same proportion of people in the survey have tried to alleviate their lower mood with an activity such as watching a movie, reading, exercising or doing chores.
The research comes as UK residents are expected to remain under a strict lockdown until at least mid-February – with people only allowed to leave their homes for specific reasons such as to exercise, shop for essentials or for a medical need.
Watching a favourite movie or TV show (56%) has been the most common method of combating feelings of sadness while in lockdown. However, many people also said that they read books (36%), cleaned the house (29%) or exercised (18%) to cheer themselves up.
Top 10 Activities That Britons Use To Beat The Lockdown Blues
| 1 |
Watch a favourite movie or TV show |
56% |
| 2 |
Read books |
36% |
| 3 |
Clean or reorganise the house |
29% |
| 4 |
Do the gardening |
23% |
| 5 |
Phone a friend |
22% |
| 6 |
Do physical exercise |
18% |
| 7 |
Do a puzzle or board game |
17% |
| 8 |
Cook for the family |
15% |
| 9 |
Take a nap |
12% |
| 10 |
Redecorate the house |
12% |
Interestingly, women (59%) are more likely than men (51%) to use movies or TV shows to wind down. Residents in the North East of England (70%), Scotland (64%) and Wales (61%) are the most likely to watch their favourite movie or TV show to beat the lockdown blues.
While serious mental health problems need professional attention, research shows that watching movies that induce laughter can have a positive impact on mood and help to alleviate short term blues, stress and boredom.
“Humour, when it’s actually funny, has social and physical benefits: laughter releases neurotransmitters responsible for your happiness, such as dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins.
“The release of these chemicals in response to humour decreases stress, diminishes pain and in the process strengthens the immune system. Humour is a coping mechanism that allows us to gain perspective and take some control. In this sense, humour reframes experience so we can see something in a new way.” – Behavioural Scientist Dr Pamela Rutledge (Ph.D., M.B.A)
One study by researchers at the American Physiological Society found that even the anticipation of laughter could lower levels of Cortisol (the stress hormone), epinephrine (also known as adrenaline) and dopac (the brain chemical which helps produce epinephrine).
The research was commissioned by wevu, a new, subscription-free online movie platform in partnership with Tesco.
The new platform, available for online streaming at wevumovies.com and over most smart devices and TVs, features all the latest releases and movie classics from all of the major film studios.
