Light boards to boost serotonin launched across UK on Blue Monday

Today is supposedly the saddest day of the year, the so-called Blue Monday, a time when the serotonin levels of people in northern Europe are at their lowest.

But this year Monday, January 16 help it at hand with Saatchi / Saatchi and vitamin supplier Solgar having united to fight the effects of Blue Monday by installing light-emitting electronic billboards across the country.

The boards, which are being installed in Birmingham, Manchester and London are said to be like giant SAD lamps that help to raise the mood of those who are exposed to their light.

According to the Evening Standard, the boards will emit their rays between 4 and 8 pm, with a message on the boards inviting people to stay and bask in the light.

To enjoy one of the screens you will need to take yourself along to London’s Westfield, Deansgate, and Exchange Square Market Street East. In Manchester, they are situated at Piccadilly Gardens and Printworks, and in Birmingham they will be at Corporation Street, High Street, Ladywell Walk, New Street and Smallbrook Queensway.

The concept of Blue Monday has no scientific basis but is thought to have been dreamed up as an advertising headline by a travel company some two years ago. But for many Blue Monday is real, with money running tight before the next payday and following the highs of Christmas and New Year.

The NHS says that “Some people with SAD find that light therapy can help improve their mood considerably” with users sitting near a light box for 30 minutes to an hour every morning experiencing the same uplifting feeling of the sun.

Perhaps the effects of Blue Monday are more evident this year between the cost of living crisis and the adverse weather.

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