More to colour than meets the eye

Mind Your Body of Straits Times,

May 19, 2011

Healthy spaces

More to colour than meets the eye

Experts say colours have a physiological and psychological impact on a person?s mind and body. LEA WEE reports

Colours are not simply reflections of light perceived by the eyes.

They also have a powerful impact on a person's mental state and body, said Ms Esther Ann, a senior occupational therapist at the National University Hospital.

With that in mind, occupational therapists sometimes use coloured images to alter the moods of emotionally troubled people. Said Ms Ann: "We may advise such patients to look at scenic pictures or paintings of greenery or of the beach to soothe and relax themselves whenever they feel anxious."

Research has also shown the colour blue to have such a calming effect on people that it can lower respiration rate and blood pressure.

On the other end of the spectrum are the warm colours which are stimulating. So occupational therapists may encourage parents of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) to avoid using the colour red in their child's bedroom.

The physiological impact of colours might have a chemical explanation, among others, said Ms Ann.

Research shows that in the day, when sunlight lights up the colours around us, the brain's hypothalamus releases the stimulant called serotonin. At night, when the world is bathed in grey and black, the hypothalamus releases a depressant called melatonin.

Said Ms Ann: "In many cultures, bright colours are associated with liveliness and wakefulness and darker colours with melancholy."

A form of colour therapy, where natural bright colours are exaggerated, may help reduce the high level of melatonin seen in people with depression, anorexia nervosa (an eating disorder) and reproductive problems.

Dr Norman Li, an associate professor of psychology at the Singapore Management University, said research is starting to show that colours in the natural world influence human beings' responses to man-made scenes or objects in similar colours.

He said: "Different things in our natural world have different colours.

"When we see the same colours on our walls, our minds believe we are actually seeing those natural scenes. Accordingly, we react as we would in nature to the underlying stimuli."

Summarising the effects of four common colours, he said: "The colour red provides energy and arousal, yellow is warming, blue is calming, and green is associated with safety and peacefulness."

But one's memories, experience and cultural norms can affect the emotions associated with the different colours.

The Chinese, for instance, see the colour red as an auspicious colour and like to use it in their weddings and celebrations. People may view red as a symbol for love because of Valentine's Day marketing of red hearts and red roses.

On the other hand, said Ms Ann: "Red may remind someone of the blood that flowed from his brother's wounded hand not long ago."

Realising that colours have a significant impact on peoples' moods and emotions, major paint manufacturers such as AkzoNobel Paints and Nippon Paint Singapore have developed their own short quizzes which allow buyers to find out what colours match their character, so that they will buy the right paints.