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How Do Colours Change Our Mood?

Colour psychology is a special branch of psychology that studies the effects of colours on human behaviours and emotions. Experiments have looked at how colours affect our lives in many ways, starting from our bodies, to our minds, and mood.

Artists and interior designers believe that colours can drastically change our moods and feelings. For example, the artist Pablo Picasso once said: “Colours, like features, follow the changes of the emotions”.

On the one hand, most people know that colours closer to the red spectrum are warmer colours, like red, orange, and yellow. These warm colours can make us feel emotions like warmth and comfort to feelings of anger and hostility toward other people. Also, if there’s a lot of red around you, you’re more likely to remember negative words, or feelings about danger and failure. That’s why when you see the colour red you might react faster.

On the other hand, colours on the blue side of the spectrum are known as cool colours and include blue, purple, and green. These colours are often described as calm, but can also call to mind feelings of sadness or indifference. The colour green seems to be able to make positive emotions stronger and the negative ones weaker. It is also proven that green can boost creativity and may be a good idea for your office walls!

Another colour, blue, has been analysed many times and researchers have found that this colour has the biggest positive effect on our body, minds, and behaviour. Although the common saying goes something like ‘I’m feeling blue’, to describe when someone is feeling sad, research is looking into ways blue can treat depression and other mood problems. Because of the many influential roles colours play in our lives, colour psychology can also be used as a form of therapy. Ancient culture first started using colours to heal, as light medicine. This practice has continued to this day and many holistic practices implement it, a form of healing that considers the whole person, including their emotions. Indeed, research has shown that colours may change our mood temporarily in many cases, although effects go away after a short period of time. There’s still a lot more to explore on the incredible powers of colours!