I remember how Tina complained about feeling sleepy every time she visited Rajni’s apartment.
As for me, I couldn't shake off the feeling too.
However, it was not until this pandemic season when Rajni was a few days into her quarantine and called me the other day.
For some reason, she told me how her favorite blue-gray wall is now giving out a drab and relentless vibe. Rajni was otherwise feeling okay.
So, what do you think made her hate the walls she once had painted with blues and grays to her liking?
The answer is Colors, and its mysterious way of affecting our mood and temperament.
The very same reason one would never buy a dull green shirt, or surprisingly eat less of their favorite food served on a red plate, says a 2014 study. It's amazing to know the more we think of colors and how it affects our way of thinking, emotions, and mood, the closer we get towards using them to our advantage.
Color therapy (or Chromotherapy) is a widely identified form of treatment that has been in use over centuries to alleviate medical conditions, attain to one's mental health issues, and generally help people tune into happy stations of their lives.
This post re-introduces how color therapy works and takes a dig at how it works wonders for some people.
Read on!
Is color therapy effective–Know The Science Behind
Although the use of colors to address physical and mental issues has been in existence for decades, looking for science-backed data on this can be a walk in a dark alley. That is precisely because the research studies on color therapy are still evolving and medical science might not have logical explanations as to why colors seem to do the trick for people.
Here are a few known instances how is color therapy done that substantiates the idea forward:
Art to the rescue
Creative indulgence like painting and handicrafts that involve colors has been tried and tested time and again to address symptoms of seasonal affective disorder, a kind of depression that typically affects people during the winter and fall. Find out more on how art can help get over seasonal affective disorder symptoms.
Curing with Blue
Several hospitals prefer using blue light phototherapy to treat cases of neonatal jaundice, a medical condition that typically affects babies, raising bilirubin levels in the blood with skin and eyes turning yellow. The treatment sees affected babies placed right under fluorescent lamps or blue halogens for a significant duration. As they sleep, their bodies tend to absorb the light waves which is believed to eliminate or lower bilirubin levels.
Reportedly, multiple studies seem to have confirmed the efficacy of blue light or color that positively caters towards boosting one’s alertness, attention levels, and general mood. However, when used at night, it can surprisingly give negative effects by suppressing melatonin, thereby disrupting the circadian rhythm, more commonly referred to as the biological clock.
Green for no pain
Several individuals combating frequent headaches and being the subject of a study reportedly felt better after spending time amidst greenery.
Such an interesting outcome now forms the backbone of a scholastic research where green color or green light is being used to treat migraines as well as fibromyalgia pain.
Reportedly, participants of the research witnessed fewer episodes of migraines and fibromyalgia pain following a ten week exposure to green LED light. The best part being, the green color therapy showed no side effects whatsoever.
Although these color therapies are never going to replace medications for certain conditions, its capacity to alleviate pain and other associated symptoms by as much as 10% is quite an accomplishment with major ramifications.
Further into pain research, The Duke University School of Medicine has its senior Anesthesiology professor researching into the effect of color-filtering glasses to impact pain levels. The early results of the research have had delightful outcomes with green wavelengths showing great potential to lessen chronic and acute pain. This is an important breakthrough considering the fact that several pain-relieving medications induce long term side effects. Hence, a non-pharmacological option is always welcome.
DIY Color Therapy For A Better Life
From helping you catch a nice, deep slumber, regain concentration, boost alertness, or simply uplift your gloomy self, DIY color therapy has countless benefits to offer. Here are a few doings that one can try out:
Setting the balance right for your circadian rhythm – Insomniacs, binge-watchers, or pandemic night owls ,you all need to hear this. Your sleep deprivation is majorly due to your circadian rhythm going off balance. So, everytime you plan on switching Netflix at night, or playing games on your smartphone, the blue lights from the gadgets keep interfering with your rhythm, making it difficult for you to fall asleep. Thus, it is advised you steer clear from using gadgets at least a couple of hours before sleep.
Using tech – Got a deadline to meet that's keeping you at your laptop all night long ? Chances are you wide awake on your bed even after the work is done. That's where intelligent softwares like Flux comes in. Flux is a great tool that harnesses the goodness of color therapy to set the color of your laptop light, depending on the hour of the day, thus triggering warm colors at dusk and matches the sunlight during dawn. If you wear specs, make sure you are using anti-glare and anti-blue light glasses which can further protect your eyes from the digital strain.
Turning towards nature – When nothing seems to work, nature will find a way for you. Well. nature is perhaps the best platform to try out the goodness of color therapy. Ever felt low or have trouble staying focussed, go out for a walk. Look at the green trees, the bright flowers (red, yellow, orange) and witness your stress sleeves taking a backseat.
Getting creative with your living spaces – Living spaces are all about energies. When you put that perspective in line with color therapy, you will always find reason to smile. When choosing the color of the inside walls of a house, never be shy. Get creative with yourself and don't just rely on recommendations of an interior designer. Instead, go forward with colors that you adore and always feel happy when you look at them. You might as well install some fun muttichoor LED lights as well.
Wrap Up
Colors are everywhere, in every corner you look.
From flowers to trees, the food you eat, the drink you take, the dye you use in your hair or even painting your nails–color therapy benefits are plenty and affect our psyche in ways unimaginable.
Have you ever tried to use color therapy in your life?
Do you think it worked for you?
Let's hang out in the comments section below and let us know your thoughts.