Colour Therapy

Does colour affect your mood and behaviour?

Quick Intro!

A huge thank you to those who may have read and/or may have contributed to last week’s call-out for thoughts on home and belonging. Since then, I have received some wonderful messages about identity, culture, language and much more.

If you would like to share your own thoughts, I’d love to hear from you. More information can be found in the post. A special thank you to

Lucy Werner

for sharing this request on her newsletter last week.

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When I was in my early teens, my parents offered me the chance to move bedrooms in the house. My brother had recently left for university, and I had the option of either remaining in the small room where you couldn’t swing a cat (I never tried, just to be clear), or I could move next door that had about three times more space.

It wasn’t a difficult decision.

Growing up, I coveted my brother’s larger room for the possibilities it could provide; such as sleepovers, and dance parties with friends. So when the time came and I shifted rooms, my parents also said that I could put my stamp on how it could be redecorated. The first step: new paint for the walls.

I have to thank my parents for agreeing to a rather unique paint job, and it was one that resulted in a confused face from the decorator. It looked a bit like this:

I never said that I was an artist

However, once the novelty had worn off, I didn’t really like it what I chosen. Turns out that idea you have in your head doesn’t always translate to real life.

Since my brush with two-tone walls over two decades ago, I have primarily lived with white/cream walls (or what I recently discovered is known as ‘landlord-off-white’), as I have always rented. That said, there is a lot that you can do with a blank canvas, such as using art and plants to liven up a particular area.

Recently, I started to think more about how colour affects my behaviour and mood following the purchase of a second-hand bookcase. The bookcase in question is white (as you can see if you are reading this), but the book sleeves injected some much needed colour in the living area.

The books and other stuff add a nice pop of colour to the room!

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A quick history of colour

Some of the earliest recorded investigations of colour date back thousands of years, and these theories were developed across the centuries and around the world.

Living in Asia, certain colours are central to many traditions and customs. For example, over lunar new year, you would be hard-pressed not to come across the colours red and gold from the lanterns in the streets to the lai see (利是) or red packets because both colours are synonymous with this period. Here, red symbolises happiness and joy, while gold represents wealth and prosperity.

Yet research into the effects of colour on behaviour and mood has a rather chequered past. Early theories focused on how light could be used to balance energy. Chromotherapists claimed that by pairing certain lights to make a colour, various ailments could be cured from the physical to psychological. Theories like chromotherapy have been largely debunked, although some of the ideas persist through the wellness industry.

Contemporary investigations focus on how our brains process colour. Colours have different wavelengths and these are picked up by via receptors in the retina. And while there is some debate about how we interpret colour, there is some empirical support for the effects of colour on behaviour and mood. For example, green may provide restorative benefits such as improving concentration, and red has been shown to provide both positive and negative effects on various functions related to attention.

Still, some of this support is sketchy. The main criticism aimed at colour psychology is that you cannot establish causality, i.e., how do you isolate one colour and assess whether it causes a specific change in a behaviour?

But then, perhaps I am missing the point. Whenever I see images of bold colour schemes in magazines; on TV shows; or on social media, I am struck by how people use colour in their lives. And I reminded that perhaps there are certain colours that we are drawn to simply because they make us smile and we like them. And more often than not, that’s good enough for me.

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And now for some colourful images that will hopefully make you smile

Over the years I have been incredibly fortunate to visit various destinations that have felt alive with colour. But one such place that stands out was Miami, Florida. After visiting family last year, we had a couple of days in the city and we took a wander down South Beach. I was astounded by the colour everywhere I looked, although I think that the sunshine helped.

I like how the man was standing in place of the cone here

Lots of pastels

More pastels

That sky!

The morning was dull as you can see, but the buildings brightened everything up

And some neon!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sarah

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Hi, I’m Sarah! The Best of Intentions is an independent publication about life in Hong Kong, travel, work, culture, health/fitness, photography, along with a sprinkle of psychology. If you like this post, consider liking or sharing it. If you are a regular reader please consider subscribing to receive updates and support my writing.