“Color! What a deep and mysterious language, the language of dreams.” Paul Gauguin

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How Colors Affect Our Brain and Mood

Who says colors aren’t important? Traffic lights, warning signs, and rainbow can’t be explained without mentioning colors. We all are surrounded by different colors and they plays an important role in our lives, as they affect our way of living. Colors can make us sad, happy, energetic or angry, and we give color tags on things from the beginning of one’s life. As girls get pink color dresses and boys receive blue color clothes. When we see blue color, we think about the sky, green means environment, yellow is related to sun and so on. So, colors are essential part of our lives.

 

Why colors impact your brain?

Colors have a great impact on how your brain sees the things around you. If you’re looking at red or black, your brain will feel a different emotion to each color. It’s all because of the impact of colors on the brain, which makes you feel your emotion.

You see various colors around you. According to the Brain-Based Biz report, these colors influence your brain as it can affect your physiology since it controls your anxiety level, pulse rate, the flow of the blood, and arousal. One of the causes of impacting your senses is memory.

Colors produced by the light is an energy that affects your body, mind, and emotions. Some research suggested that you see things and the brain perceives the image which gets observed, analyzed, and transferred to the related part of the brain, where the perception of the image is being done. Advanced technology was used in some studies to know – Do colors impact your brain waves, the automatic nervous system, hormonal activity and stimulates different emotions. If I put it in a simple way, then yes, you react both physiologically and psychologically to different colors.

Studies From Past to Present

Your body, mind, and emotions are affected by the colors. Many types of research were conducted to show the benefits of colors where brain development, creativity, and learning are concerned.

In 1875, European doctor Ponza conducted numerous studies. Colored glass, walls, and furniture in different rooms were used. Two colors red and blue were utilized for the experiment. A man who refused to eat for days, he started craving for food. Another case was of an aggressive patient. When he was left in a blue room for one hour to calm down, it actually worked.

Goldstein in 1942, tried to find out the effect of color on organisms. He conducted experiments on patients and he observed that the colors had positive and negative effects on organisms. The most important research was related to Parkinson patients. Red color worsened the pathological problem observed in Parkinson patients, green showed the improvements. Brain-damaged patients also reacted negatively to the red color.

K.W. Jacobs and F.E. Hustmyer in 1974, found that red is more stimulating than green color and green is more stimulating than the blue and yellow color. They proved that colors in long-wavelength are more stimulating than those in short wavelengths. According to studies, a person left in a red room was continuously stimulated, but this effect wasn’t permanent. He was normal after a period of time after he left the red room.

Rikard Kuller in 1976, confirmed that the colors affect not merely the cortex but the entire central nervous system.

Different studies have found out that alpha brain waves change after seeing any color. Also as per the EEG and pulse measuring system, males and females react in a different way to different colors. After receiving the color, your brain release hormone which affects your emotions and gives you a clear mind.

It’s light, not your vision

Your hypothalamus release a number of hormones that regulate the body’s self-regulation such as temperature, sleep, hunger, and circadian rhythms.

In the morning, blue and green light specifically prompts the secretion of the hormone cortisol which stimulates and wakes you up and inhibits the release of melatonin. Late evening, sunlight reduces the amount of blue light, melatonin is released into your bloodstream and you become sleepy.

How color tone affect your emotions?

It depends entirely on a color’s brightness, shade, and tone(warm or cool tone). Let’s take a look at how you feel after seeing a color:

Cool colors are blue, green, and purple. These colors are soothing, calm in nature, and also express sadness. Purple is a blend of blue and red, can help you spark creativity.

Warm colors are red, orange, and yellow. These colors evoke feelings of optimism happiness and energy. Also grabs attention and makes you take action like stop signs, hazard warnings, and barrier tape. Red can make you crave for food.

How do you feel?

Red is the warmest and dynamic color that makes you feel energized and passionate. It often depicts love, anger, and danger. Also, it can increase your heart rate and make you excited. It grabs attention, too.

Orange makes you feel energized, happy, and enthusiastic. It also grabs attention and depicts movement but isn’t as overpowering as red. It is aggressive but balanced, inviting, and friendly.

Yellow makes you feel most energetic, cheerful, optimistic, and spontaneous. It is related to sunshine, laughter, and hope. Yellow reflects more light and can irritate your eyes.

Green makes you feel calm, optimistic, refreshed and it denotes health. Easiest on the eyes and make you relax.

Blue makes you feel calm, safe, spiritual, and relaxed. The dark blue color gives a professional feel, but using too much can produce a cold feeling. Light blues are more relaxing, friendly.

Purple makes you feel creative, mysterious, royal, and wealthy. Lighter shades of purple are used to calm a viewer, that’s why it is used in beauty products.

Pink makes you feel playful, sensitive, and romantic. Also, it represents feminity. Pink is a sweet and charming color.

Brown can make you feel down to earth. It generates a sense of stability and support in you. It’s a warm and friendly, practical, and dependable color.

Black can make you feel sophisticated, classic, and serious. It depicts power, luxury, elegance, professionalism, and simplicity. It’s assertive and powerful. Black also represents mourning or sadness.

White can make you feel peace and simplicity. In different cultures, white represents purity and innocence. One of the most neutral colors.

Colors and feelings are connected

For an individual, colors can be subjective like what might make you feel cheerful that can make your partner feel irritated. It depends on his or her past experiences. Universally, the meaning of one color isn’t the same, colors can make people feel differently in different countries. However, colors and emotions are closely connected.

Color Psychology as Therapy

Various cultures such as Egyptians and Chinese used chromotherapy (the use of colors to heal). It is also known as light therapy or colorology.

Colorology is still in practice as a holistic treatment:

1. Red: to energize the body, mind, and to increase circulation.
2. Yellow: to stimulate the nerves and purify the body of an individual.
3. Orange: to heal lungs and to increase energy levels.
4. Blue: to calm the illnesses and treat pain.
5. Indigo: to alleviate skin problems.

As you have read earlier, colors and emotions are closely connected. Warm colors can generate different emotions than cool colors. It depends on how an individual uses the psychological effects of color.

Modern Research on Color Psychology

Many psychologists doubt color therapy. According to them, the effects of color are often exaggerated. Colors have different meanings in different cultures.

In studies, it has been confirmed about many cases that the mood-altering effects of color can merely be temporary. A blue room can bring feelings of calmness, but for a short period of time.

Conclusion

“There’s a reason we don’t see the world in black and white.” – Celerie Kemble

The colors you see are phenomenal and vibrant. So, try to appreciate all of the beauty around you. Rainbow, sunsets, or the blue ocean, everything is worthy and valuable. Can you imagine your life in just black and white colors? I love these colors but life is incomplete with the colors around us. Colors are something that impacts not just your body but your soul too. However, appreciate your colorful life and live colorfully.