Have you made September resolutions? Experts say NOW is the best time to re-set your life
- The month you make resolutions could impact how effective you are at sticking to them, say experts
- READ MORE: Brace for Storm DAVE: Met Office unveils new names for UK's extreme weather events named after loved ones
You make 'em, then you break 'em - New Year resolutions are famously hard to stick to, with many of us falling foul of temptation before January's out.
According to research released by YouGov earlier this year, just one third of people who take up a self-improvement resolution at the start of a new year manage to stick to it.
However, could it be that we're simply trying to alter the things we don't like about our lives at the wrong time of year?
Experts are suggesting that by creating a list of individual goals when, in the UK at least, the weather is at its most dreary, with dark nights and cold weather, people are setting themselves up to fail.
Additional seasonal challenges such as money being tight after the long festive holiday also hamper people's motivation, say psychologists.
If you want to make resolutions then September is actually the ideal time to do it, they suggest.
Why? Because the ninth month of the year comes after a restful, natural pause during the summer, meaning energy levels are higher and you're more likely to stay committed to your chosen resolution.
Psychologist Dr Lalitaa Suglani tells Dailymail.co.uk: 'September is often seen as a fresh start, much like the New Year.
New September, new you? Experts say that the ninth month of the year could be a better month for resolutions
'After the summer break, routines are re-established and people feel motivated to reset habits, whether that’s improving health, getting finances in order, or even focusing on personal goals before the year comes to an end.'
Dr Suglani adds that the natural passing of the baton from summer to autumn can make it easier to achieve work and life goals, with cooler days signifying a calmer mood after a long hot summer.
She explains: 'A seasonal shift into the autumn season also reinforces this sense of change.
'We're naturally aligned with nature and follow cycles to this effect - looking at nature transitions, we're psychologically primed to reflect and realign with it.'
And September exudes 'clean slate', Dr Suglani suggests, saying: 'The "fresh start effect" shows that natural temporal landmarks, like the start of a school year or a new season can boost motivation and make people more likely to pursue lasting changes.'
But if we can't stick to habits in January, are we really likely to remain faithful to them at the summer's end?
Hayley Melin, Charted Psychologist and Managing Partner at The House Partnership, says avoiding dramatic changes is key.
Melin explains: 'When setting goals, it’s best to keep them small and achievable, as manageable steps are more likely to lead to lasting progress without the overwhelm of big, unrealistic ambitions.
'Healthy habits grow out of gentle consistency rather than pressure, so approaching this time of year with steady, intentional changes can create a more sustainable foundation for wellbeing.'
Lighter nights and a restful summer break mean you're more likely to stick to self-improvement goals, say psychologists
Following YouGov's research earlier this year, experts deemed that fatigue can play an intrinsic role in staying motivated.
Academic scholars identified sleep as a key metric in a resolution's success or failure.
Researchers from multiple universities followed over 100 people around for a week, texting them at random times to estimate their levels tiredness.
For those who endured a bad night's sleep, they were far more likely to be engaging in habitual behaviours such as binge eating or foregoing exercise for time in front of the television.
Speaking to the Telegraph in January, Benjamin Gardener, the study's director and head of the Habit Application and Theory Group at the University of Surrey, said: 'When we're trying to make positive changes to our behaviour, feeling drowsy can put us at real risk of lapsing back into our old, unwanted bad habits.
'Lapsing can cause us to lose confidence in our ability to change and make us give up'.
The study puts forward the argument that when our brains are tired, we simply switch on to autopilot as a coping mechanism and revert back to the habits we are most familiar and comfortable with.
Research has also proven that tiredness can make self-control more difficult and in-turn promote falling back on old, unhealthy habits.
Fear not though, for there is some good news for those about to embark on their 2025 resolutions, whether they be fitness-based or otherwise.
Studies also reveal that once healthy habits become ingrained in the human brain, that it will then opt to repeat them even in the presence of fatigue, as they eventually seem like the easy option to your body.
The study's co-author and associate professor at the University of South Carolina Dr Amanda Rebar spoke to the survey's findings.
'Our study shows this definitively: people were more likely to act habitually when they reported feeling sleepy.
'While this can result in higher levels of good habits, it can also lead individuals to fall back on bad habits'.
Unfortunately though, over a third of Brits sleep less than six hours a night, with one fifth of the public also suffering from extreme daytime tiredness.
Reinforcing the importance of sleep in maintaining New Year's goals, Dr Rebar added: 'Feeling sleepy diminishes our ability to exert that determination over other competing desires and temptations. That can lead us to act habitually, in a way that goes against our goals.
'When our ability to control what we do is depleted by sleepiness, we tend to act more on autopilot, with minimal forethought.'
