'It's not the 60+ days of Christmas!' Exasperated Brits blast John Lewis, Coca-Cola, and Argos for releasing their ads almost two months before the big day - as experts warn prolonged buildup can spark 'festive burnout'

This year, brands like John Lewis, Coca–Cola, and Argos have rushed to get their Christmas adverts out almost two months ahead of the big day.

You might think that this would help us to get excited for Santa's arrival. 

However, stretching out the festive season can actually have the opposite effect – sparking 'festive burnout'.

Taking to X, one commenter complained: 'These Christmas ads are annoying. It's too f****** early. It's the 12 days of Christmas, not the 60+ days of Christmas.' 

While it might sound dramatic, experts say the prolonged buildup to Christmas can lead to poor sleep, irritable moods, and depression.

And in extreme cases, festive burnout can even lead to increased risk of heart attacks and death.

Professor Ruth Ogden, a psychologist from Liverpool John Moores University, told Daily Mail: 'For adults, it is possible that earlier and earlier starts to Christmas marketing amplify time pressure and a sense of stress.

'It's easy to see how you could feel like life is speeding by if, as soon as you finish the summer holidays, it is immediately the run–up to Christmas.'

If you feel like the festive season comes around earlier every year, Professor Ogden says that you are not alone.

Her research has found that 70 per cent of people feel like Christmas comes around faster each year – and that advertising and marketing are key reasons. 

The moment Halloween is over, supermarkets and high street chains almost immediately start to roll out the Christmas marketing.

This year, seasonal adverts, mince pies, and even Christmas trees began popping up around the country from as early as August. 

However, it seems the early festive celebrations are leaving many Brits rather underwhelmed. 

'I don't know who needs to hear this but it's FAR too early for Christmas decorating,' one exasperated Brit wrote.

Another chimed in: 'I think the reason everyone says "Christmas doesn't feel like Christmas anymore" is bc yall start celebrating wayyyyy too early and get burnt out by the time the day ACTUALLY comes.'

Professor Ogden says: 'Christmas products are appearing in the shops earlier and earlier each year. 

'Even if the full displays don't come until after Halloween, you see the creep of selection boxes and advent calendars before then.'

This expert explains that this means that the 'cognitive load' of Christmas comes around earlier each year as well.

For someone who loves every minute of the festive season, this might not seem like a bad thing, but Christmas also piles on the sources of stress.

Professor Jolanta Burke, a psychologist from RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, told Daily Mail that this could come from many different sources.

She said: 'For many, there are family–related arguments, complicated relationships. For some, it could be the financial burden of Christmas.

'There are also many lonely people out there, and Christmas amplifies their loneliness, which causes them additional stress.'

Normally, our bodies are able to manage bursts of stress that occur throughout the day by switching off our body's fight or flight system, known as the sympathetic nervous system.

However, when stress becomes chronic, the sympathetic nervous system can't turn off and stress hormones like cortisol start to build up.

Eventually, overproduction of cortisol interferes with the body's ability to recover from stress and feel energised throughout the day, leaving you feeling drained and exhausted.

The longer we are exposed to these sources of stress, the higher the chances of developing a condition known as burnout.

Professor Burke says this can lead to 'a huge range of mental health issues, such as increased anxiety, depression, but also a range of physiological health outcomes, such as headaches, increased risk of heart disease, impaired gut–health, and sleep disturbances.'

Studies have found that high expectations and the feeling that everyone else is having fun at Christmas create feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and helplessness. 

Professor Ogden says: 'I think it is possible that the long build–up can increase expectations, but I think it is equally likely to increase frustrations and exacerbate a sense that time is passing too quickly.'

Yet, perhaps the saddest consequence of starting to advertise Christmas products so early is that it threatens to take the magic out of the season.

When anticipation is healthy, it increases our enjoyment, helps time pass faster, and even increases our positive emotions. 

However, when anticipation goes on too long, people become desensitised and what was once exciting no longer produces the same positive reaction.

Professor Ogden says that starting the advertising so early risks creating a 'temporal mismatch' between the big shops' marketing plans and our expectations.

'Part of the magic comes from the way that it had a clearly defined period – December,' says Professor Ogden.

'If Christmas becomes merged with autumn, it is easy to imagine that it could lose some of the magic and appeal.

'I no longer look forward to the Christmas things coming into the shops, because they are there far before I want them to be.'