Fight Blue Monday with fairy lights

Christmas

Published: 15th Jan 2018

Written by: Bryony Hayburn

Have you heard? Today is Blue Monday!

No, we’re not about to start humming a New Order track, Blue Monday is the name given to a day in January which is said to be the most depressing day of the year. Sadly, that day is today.

Now if this dreary day has caught you by surprise and you’re not quite sure how you’ll get through, then keep reading. We have one simple tip that might just brighten your mood enough for you  to make it through the week.

The answer is simple, it’s fairy lights!

Now I’m sure you all think we’re just trying to come up with new ways to sell you lights, but listen up! Warm lights really do boost your mood; you know that feeling you get when you see the first couple of Christmas trees popping up in December? Well, it turns out that warm fuzzy feeling isn’t just because you know Christmas is just around the corner; it’s because they’re covered in warm lights.

According to Chicago environmental and design psychologist Dr Sally Augustin, this fuzzy feeling is bigger than Christmas, it’s evolution!

It goes way back, to when the sight of a roaring fire not only meant warmth and shelter, but food too. She says that as we have evolved, ‘our eyes and neural networks developed in tandem in a way that creates positive associations with warmer light.’ ‘When we experience warmer coloured lights, candlelight or light from warmer bulbs, it puts us in a more positive mood, which is great for getting along with others. ‘

So it’s simple, a string of fairy lights is the perfect way to pull you out of your Blue Monday funk!

We’ve been trying out this theory all month in our January campaign to keep lights up all year round, so if you haven’t got involved yet then what better time to start than on Blue Monday! #TheShowMustGlowOn