While Blue Monday isn’t officially a holiday, it does have the dubious distinction of being named one of the most depressing days of the year.
It falls on the third Monday of January each year and the theory goes that we’re all cold because of the unforgiving winter weather and broke due to the arrival of post-Christmas bills. Throw in feelings of guilt over New Year resolutions to get fit, drink less alcohol, and generally be a new and improved human being already falling by the wayside. Sprinkle with our low mood affected by the lack of sunlight and payday still feeling like a lifetime away. Not an obvious day for celebration! But we aim to do just that!
We live by using plants creatively to enrich people, places and spaces. And we’ve seized the day to really focus on the people.
What is Blue Monday?
The history of Blue Monday can be traced back to 2005 when Dr Cliff Arnall released a press release that stated that January 18th 2005 was the most depressing day of the year and that this was calculated using several factors such as weather, debt and motivational levels.
Mental health organization Beat Blue Monday states that this formula is [W + (D-d)] x T^Q} ÷ [M x N_a], with “W” standing for weather, “D” standing for debt, “d” standing for monthly salary, “M” for motivational levels and “Na” standing for the feeling of a need to take action.
However, this equation has been debunked countless times by scientists and many people believe this holiday started off as a promotional stunt. A smart marketing campaign by Sky Travel that was supposedly used to sell more travel packages in January!
To put a positive spin on the day, we aim to #TurnBlueMondayGreen
Plants and greenery for wellness
Biophilia is the term describing our love of life or living things. Humans have a deeply engrained love of nature which is an intuitive and imprinted into our DNA. Being surrounded by nature makes us feel good, our physical and mental wellbeing depends on us spending time in a natural environment. And whilst we can’t all head for the hills, or a stroll along the beach on a whim we can help by bringing the outdoors in.
As plant experts, we understand exactly how to creatively introduce plants, greenery and flowers to bring blank canvases to life. So we decided to bring a little nature to the city – and your workspace! Plants are nature’s marvels, filled with intriguing stimuli that modestly attracts your attention. Being around them has a huge positive impact on physical and mental health. They give us a sense of relaxation and tranquillity and when introduced to sterile environments, natural elements can help with mental recovery and stress relief.
Wellness in the workforce is not just a win for employees. A happy, contented workforce are more productive, more creative, and less susceptible to absenteeism. A study by the Agricultural University of Norway in the 1990s found that the introduction of plants to one office was linked to a 25% decrease in symptoms of ill health, including fatigue, concentration problems, dry skin and irritation of the nose and eyes.
We will be out and about on Blue Monday in Glasgow and Edinburgh city centre with a trolley bursting with FREE plants.
If you see us, say hello and we’ll be delighted to gift you a beautiful peace lily – a lush, low maintenance plant which thrives in indoor temperatures and purifies the air around you – perfect for your office.
With a little water once a week you’ll see the benefits of bringing the outdoors in for the year ahead – definitely nothing to feel blue about!
We’re also running some SPECIAL OFFERS for the first quarter of 2020 to help you get set up with some plants and greenery in your office and chase those blues away!
Contact us TODAY on 01324 861300
