Match Identified The Best Day Of The Year To Go On A First Date & It's SO Soon

Whilst the festive season may be ending, cuffing season is still well under way. Christmas is the time of the year where you're supposed to stay in, cuddled up on the sofa with a roaring fire going, watching Netflix with your significant other, right? I know my social media feeds have been full of engagement announcements since Dec. 25. However, if you’re out here single and thinking maybe it is time to give dating apps another try, Match is well prepared. Match has identified the best day to go on a first date. So if, like me, this is not your first rodeo and you are all too familiar with the highs and deep, deep lows of online dating, then this may be the night to dig out your fail safe "nice top and jeans" combination and meet someone new.

Dating in general is unpredictable. There is nothing quite like the journey to the bar you are meeting at when you have to question whether you are about to meet the love of your life or just another slightly problematic prospect that can't let go of their university years and has questionable taste in shoes. It can be tough out there. However, Match has established the date in the New Year when you may statistically go on your most successful date and it's pretty soon.

The site first coined the term Dating Sunday years ago to mark Jan. 6, the day that is considered to be busiest for dating apps. On this day, Match predicts there will be a 69 percent spike in new singles coming to the app, over 1.5 million messages will be sent, and the peak time to connect will be at 9:05 p.m. I hope you’re taking note. As a result of all of the connections made on Dating Sunday, Match has now spotlighted Jan. 11 as First Date Friday. This is the night that it is predicted that most potential singles who match on Dating Sunday will meet up in real life and hopefully hit it off. With more than 60 million messages sent during Peak Season, it is clear new couples aren’t the only ones that are having all of the fun during cuffing season.

Some studies have sought to establish why people may be more keen to find that special someone over winter. Is it the Christmas spirit and mulled wine? Is cuffing season a real thing or is it just another way we pressurise each other to settle down? The festive season is full of family gatherings and believe me, the last couple of weeks have made me all too aware of how painful it can be ninth wheeling at a family dinner whilst my brother and cousins all dote with their other halves and I nurse a cocktail. Espresso Martinis never fail. It’s natural to seek out someone to couple up with. Similarly, a 2002 study into decreased sunlight published in The Lancet exposure have found that humans produce less serotonin in the winter (the hormone that makes you feel happy). So, it is natural to feel down at this time of the year. Cuffing season may just be people trying to find happiness in other people.

On the Daily Mail dating expert at Match, Vicki Pavitt said, “people want a fresh start and January is the perfect time of year to wipe the slate clean and try something new... Once all of the fun of New Year’s Eve weekend dies down and the Christmas festivities are over, January is the time many Brits embrace a new beginning and get back into the dating game.”

So, in the light of the New Year and once you have shaken off your New Years Eve headache it could be the year of successful online dates. And who knows, First Date Friday may be the one date to get you through the rest of cuffing season and beyond.