We all know a Christmas critic who refuses to acknowledge the festive season until Santa is practically halfway down the chimney, but experts say that putting decorations up earlier can actually make you happier.
Take that, all you grinches out there! Who cares if there’s still six weeks to go until the big day? The clocks have changed, the leaves are dropping off and the Christmas adverts have begun. If you ask me, that’s all the indication needed to dig out the old ‘decorations’ box.
There’s no denying that Christmas incites a sense of excitement, but psychologist Deborah Serani has explained that decorating your house and putting your Christmas tree up can actually prompt a shift in hormones, making us feel happier.
Speaking to Today, Serani said that decorating can ‘create that neurological shift that can produce happiness’.
She continued:
I think anything that takes us out of our normal habituation, the normal day in, day out … signals our senses, and then our senses measure if it’s pleasing or not.
Christmas decorating will spike dopamine, a feel-good hormone.
Whether it’s the twinkling of lights, the smell of pine or the sight of shiny tinsel, Christmas comes with its own sense of wonder. Serani described it as a ‘magical time’, one of ‘innocence’ and ‘joy’ for many people, which explains why we’re often so keen to start the celebrations.
With science on our side, there’s really no reason not to put on some Christmas songs, crack open the mince pies and let the decorating commence.
