Colors Affect Mood & Behavior

Colors and how we feel about them are influenced by where we live, our upbringing, our personalities, our environment and our experiences.  For example, in western countries white is seen as a color that represents purity and cleanliness.  Because of this, many brides wear white at their marriage ceremony.  In many Eastern countries, however, white is worn as a symbol of mourning.

In Tokyo, Japan, Glasgow, Scotland and Nara, Japan and Yokohama, Japan blue street lights have been installed in some areas of these cities.  Where the blue lights have been installed there has been a decrease in crime and suicide attempts.  They are attributing this to the calming influence of blue.

Color can absolutely affect your mood, behavior and stress levels.

History:

Sir Isaac Newton, in 1666 discovered when pure light shone on a prism it separated into all the visible colors.  Each individual color is made up of a single wavelength and cannot be separated any further.  He also discovered that combining colors created new colors.  Red and yellow make orange.  Interestingly, green and magenta cancel each other when combined and the result is white light.

Warm Colors & Cool Colors:

When we examine the color wheel we notice that there is a warm side to the color spectrum reds, oranges and yellows and a cool side the blues, purples and greens.  Warm colors can make us feel happiness, optimism, energetic, or warn us of danger or anger.  Blue colors on the other hand can make us feel calm and soothed but can also lead to sadness.

Colors & Mood:

Advertisers and marketers use color strategically to try and influence us to buy or do something they desire.  And colors can affect our moods.

White – Fresh, clean, youthful, modern, purity, innocence, cold bland, sterile, simplicity

Green – relieves stress, promotes creativity, envy, natures color, tranquility, good luck, health, jealousy, fertility, calming, promotes healing, helpful, caring, compassion, sympathetic, optimistic, restful, natural, fresh, optimistic, refreshed (easiest color on the eye)

Black – powerful, sexy, mysterious, ominous, evil, death, mourning, boldness, seriousness, unhappiness, sophisticated, serious, power, luxury, professionalism, simplicity, fear, sadness, unapproachable, authority, timeless, stylish

Silver – modern, edgy

Red – bold, action, confidence, love, excitement, warm vibrant, aggressive, comfort, angry, powerful, fun, passion, love, danger, exciting, trustworthy, stimulates your heartbeat (Red cars get more speeding tickets)

Blue – stability, safety, dependable, trustworthy, calmness, sadness, serene, icy, distant, cold, lower pulse rate, lower body temperature, safe, relaxed

Yellow – happy, risk taker, lifts the spirits, stimulates your appetite, warmth, energy, brightness, attention, the most fatiguing color for the eye, frustration, anger, cheerful, energetic, aggressive, confrontational, happy, spontaneous, laughter hope sunshine, optimistic cheerful (speeds metabolism, enhances concentration – think yellow notepads)

Gray – subtle, do not want attention called to them, serious, professional, mature, normality, conventional, reserved

Purple – wealth, mystery, wisdom, royalty, imagination, spiritual, lush, creative, artificial

Brown – reliable, strong, secure, nature, reliable, sadness, isolation, solid, grounded, practical, warm, friendly, old-fashioned, and masculine

Orange – enthusiastic, demands attention, energy, happiness, excitement, warmth, autumn, refreshing, happy, vitality, happiness, energized, enthusiastic, call to action

Pink – romance, kindness, nurturing, love, calming, feminine, softness, joyful, happy, childish, playful, sweet, tender, charming, cute

Color & Weight Loss

The color blue is not a color that stimulates your appetite.  Blue food is uncommon.  Therefore in order to lose weight you could try blue dishes to help decrease your hunger.

Color & Clothing:

• Best Colors for Work/Office: green, blue, brown and black
• Best Color for Workout Clothes: orange
• Best Color for Men on a Date: blue
• Best Color for Women on a Date: red

Room Colors:

The color of a room can actually make us perceive the temperature of that room differently.  When we are in a space where the walls are painted win warm colors, we actually feel that the temperature there is warmer than we do in similar spaces painted cool colors.

The color you paint a room can also invoke a feeling.  White rooms feel spacious and open.  Anytime you paint something a neutral color (beige, gray, white) it can have a calming influence.  Not only can the color affect a room’s mood but the intensity of that color can play a role as well.  So consider the color and the shade before starting on a new color scheme.

• Bedrooms – blue (restful)
• Kitchens – yellow & orange (energizing)
• Home Office – green (prosperity)
• Children’s Room – pink (calming & playful)

In Conclusion: 

We should be more aware of the colors that are around us and how they are affecting our moods.  We can also understand that any old color may not suit for that feeling we want in our “spa bathroom” or the image we are projecting on that “first date”.

Color can:

• Change Emotion and Influence Mood
• Signal Action
• Increase Blood Pressure and Metabolism

The majority of people pick blue as their overall favorite color.