To all those Christmas lovers who begin the countdown early, we regret to inform you that playing festive music too early is officially bad for your mental health *and in the background the Grinches cheer*.
Psychologist Linda Blair went on Sky News to tell us that blasting “Jingle Bells Rock” on repeat is having a negative effect on our brains and that the endless stream of Christmas music in department stores is a stressful experience for the retailers and customers alike.
According to Blair, the playing of holiday music too early is likely to trigger anxiety in shoppers and doesn’t allow the people working in the stores to focus on anything else but Christmas.
Blair said, "[Holiday music] might make us feel that we're trapped. It's a reminder that we have to buy presents, cater for people [and] organize celebrations."
Blair continued, “People working in the shops at Christmas have to [tune out] Christmas music, because if they don’t, it really does stop you from being able to focus on anything else, you’re simply spending all of your energy trying not to hear what you’re hearing.”
Our sincerest apologies Christmas lovers, but you should probably hold-off the festive cheer for another month.
