Andy Devaney
As winter tightens its grip, mental health once again takes a bruising. The darkest stretch of the year has barely begun, yet Sport in Mind — the UK’s mental health sports charity — is already reporting a spike in struggles among those who were finding life tough enough without the early sunsets.
The charity’s latest survey* pulls no punches.
More than half (55%) of participants said darker evenings drag their mental health down. Two-thirds (67%) admitted that shorter days sap their motivation to stay active. And a stark one in four people living with mental health problems confessed that the Christmas season — supposedly the most wonderful time of the year — actually dents their mood.
None of this will shock anyone who’s ever spent December staring out of a window at 4 p.m. darkness wondering where their energy went. It’s the time of year when loneliness gets louder, anxiety sharpens, and routines fall apart faster than cheap tinsel. Sport in Mind sees the fallout up close, which is why they’ve spent years working with the NHS to run hundreds of free weekly sessions across the UK. Football, walking groups, yoga, badminton, movement workshops — if it gets people moving and talking, it’s on the menu.
These sessions aren’t fancy. They don’t need to be. They offer a lifeline: structure, community, and a reminder that life doesn’t stop just because the sun clocks off early.
Now, with demand climbing between November and January, the charity is asking the public to “step up” — literally — with its new Soles of the Season Appeal, a winter fundraising push aimed at keeping these sessions free and accessible.
Donating is straightforward:
www.sportinmind.org/donate/soles-of-the-season-appeal
And every pound genuinely counts.
● £5 gives a young person facing mental health challenges the chance to join an uplifting activity.
● £10 funds an hour of sport and support.
● £25 pays for a trained session leader who can support up to 20 people battling mental health difficulties.
Sport in Mind CEO Neil Harris doesn’t sugar-coat the reality: “Winter can be incredibly tough for people living with mental health challenges. Dark evenings, reduced activity, and the pressures of the festive season can significantly worsen how people feel. Our Soles of the Season Appeal is about ensuring no one is left without support during this difficult period. A simple act of kindness and connection can make all the difference. Every donation helps keep our sessions open, free, and accessible, ensuring we can reach those who might otherwise feel alone.”
He’s right. Winter isn’t just cold — it’s isolating. And for many, that isolation hits harder than any frost.
Sport in Mind is urging individuals, businesses, schools, clubs — anyone with a spine and a conscience — to get behind the Soles of the Season Appeal and help keep people connected through the bleakest stretch of the calendar.
Because sometimes, the smallest gesture — a session, a donation, an hour of activity — can be the one thing that lifts someone out of the dark.
*Survey of 266 Sport in Mind participants
