Beauty
Blue Monday 2019. Using the nose can save us from sadness and bad mood
9 out of 10 people feel more positive and serene when they are in a pleasantly scented environment
It is the day of the ‘black stamp’ par excellence: Monday, January 21 will be in fact the Blue Monday, the day when sadness will reach its peak.
Born by the will of an English travel agency to promote tourism even in winter, on the third Monday of January has earned the reputation of the most depressing day of the year through a complex set of calculations that analyzed several variables: the weather and the few hours of light during the day, feelings of guilt for the (perhaps too much) money spent for Christmas, the anxiety for the return to full swing in the office.
Whether or not found advertising, it is true that Mondays make life more difficult and that many people suffer this time of year that coincides with the return to routine, the resumption of activities and the commitment to implement the many intentions ideally made at the beginning of the new year.
The solution to combat negative feelings and restlessness could be to start using more, and better, the nose: one of the most effective ways to overcome winter sadness and lift the mood is to resort to the power that the sense of smell has over the brain.
A study conducted by Initial, the world’s leading company in hygiene services and environmental fragrances, has shown that smell has the power to influence our emotions. The sense of smell, among all the senses, is the one that is most capable of evoking feelings, conditioning the sensations in a direct and persistent way. According to the results of the research, in fact, 91% of the interviewees are positively influenced by the presence of a pleasant fragrance and 73% confirmed that smells are able to immediately bring out memories and emotions, demonstrating the fact that the memories evoked by smells are of an emotional/emotional type, unlike what happens with those evoked by other stimuli. Moreover, 67% of the interviewees declared that a good perfume is able to make them feel more relaxed and patient.
From lemongrass to lavender, passing through spices such as sage, thyme and mint: there are scents that more than others can activate positivity, stimulating good humour by increasing the production of serotonin, the hormone that ‘governs’ our state of mind. Using particular fragrances for the environment can therefore help to improve our days by preparing us to face with greater serenity and energy what happens to us.
For this reason, Initial has developed a glossary of fragrances, Premium Scenting top 10, to be used to combat Blue Monday and to raise your emotional and energetic well-being:
- Citronella, to ward off sad thoughts: it has stimulating properties on the nervous system and is able to generate a state of calm, relaxation and optimism, warding off the gloomy thoughts that place the soul in a state of depression and sadness. It has a positive action useful in case of headaches due to nervous tension, stress, psychophysical fatigue and on states of deconcentration.
- Lavender, to regain balance and combat headaches: it exerts a rebalancing action on the central nervous system, acting both as a tonic and as a sedative. It calms anxiety, agitation and nervousness; it relieves headaches and stress-related disorders; it helps to combat insomnia.
- Sandalwood, to calm aggression and anxiety: has relaxing properties that can act on our nervous system. Useful for regaining serenity, it can stimulate calm and combat anxiety, stress and aggression.
- Mandarin, to counter tension and restlessness: it is an excellent tranquilizer and its sedative action makes it a great help to combat emotional stress and insomnia. It is a delicate perfume and for this reason it is effective in states of tension or restlessness and also promotes the nightly rest of children.
- Mint, to lighten thoughts and regenerate the mind: it has a refreshing and regenerating effect on the psyche and is able to remove the sense of heaviness and oppression given by stress and dark moods. It is recommended to improve performance in the office and promote concentration during intense periods of study.
- Pine, to regain the vigour of body and mind: it is a toning and invigorating, which helps to remove the sense of fatigue due to fatigue and stress and to feel immediately active, full of energy and efficient. For this stimulating action, it is also known and used as an aphrodisiac.
- Pink grapefruit, to stimulate creativity and good mood: it has a rebalancing, stimulating and revitalizing action for the body. It acts on the stability of the mood and infuses a new energy charge, of positivity and optimism and for this reason it is indicated in periods of anxiety or strong stress and in changes of season, to facilitate the adaptation of the body to climate change, and to regain creativity.
- Salvia, to find new mental momentum: it exerts a relaxing and antidepressant action. It induces calm and serenity in the presence of nervousness, anguish, fear, paranoia and acts on an emotional level, on our creativity instilling courage to implement new projects.
- Thyme, to improve concentration: it is considered a tonic for the nervous system, with a stimulating and restorative action. Useful in case of physical and mental fatigue, it improves memory and brain activity, fighting insomnia and depression.
- Vanilla, to find serenity in relationships with others: it has a relaxing and calming action of the state of mind, it acts on the nervous system by increasing the production of oxytocin and allowing you to feel comfortable, more serene and predisposed to relationships with others. It also has stimulating and aphrodisiac properties thanks to its sweet and enveloping aroma.
