(MAY 1, 2020, BOSTON, MA) – This year, Mother’s Day looks different for many of us. It may not be possible in light of COVID-19 to visit with mom or other women who have influenced your life. Such separation induces stress and loneliness but, according to several research studies, flowers may be just the antidote moms and women in general need this season.
According to a survey by Wakefield Research, 68 percent of people feel stress on a weekly basis, and 32 percent are stressed every day—numbers that are now almost certainly higher in today’s COVID-19 environment. Women, in particular, are affected, as one in four report experiencing stress multiple times a day.
Research from the University of North Florida shows that something as simple as flowers can help. The findings show that people who lived with flowers in their homes for just a few days reported a significant decrease in their levels of stress and improvements in their moods. Additional research from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, shows that the presence of flowers around senior citizens decreased depression among 81%, refreshed recent memory among 72% and encouraged outreach to loved ones among 40 percent. And research from Harvard University found that people who live with flowers report fewer episodes of anxiety and depressed feelings.
“Flowers have evolved to activate positive emotional responses from people,” says Rutgers University researcher Jeannette Haviland-Jones, Ph.D., director of the university’s Human Emotions Lab. “Each bloom has the potential to put a smile on our face and sway our opinion of a friend, colleague or loved one. That’s powerful.”
“When you receive flowers as a gift, you know that someone is thinking of you right now, this very minute,” said Rick Canale, owner of Exotic Flowers in Boston, MA. “Flowers spark joy, something that everyone needs right now—especially mothers.”
For Mother’s Day gift ideas, visit www.exoticflowers.com or call (617)942-4803.
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