The concept of color therapy fascinated and intrigued people from early on. Even nowadays scientists conduct multiple studies on its various aspects. Regardless of the controversy surrounding its therapeutic nature, one thing remains clear – people have experienced different positive effects of colors since ancient times. However, the question is still up for debate: is color therapy a real therapy?
Meanwhile, it’s important to point out that color therapy should not be confused with traditional medicine. It’s often treated as an alternative medicine and known as chromotherapy or light therapy. Yet its notion is still of great interest, that’s why we prepared 6 surprising facts about color therapy you should definitely learn.
Color therapy has Egyptian roots
Ancient Egyptians were the first people who tried and successfully managed to copy the basic natural colors and incorporate them into their life. The floors of their temples were painted green as grass and the walls were blue as the sky.
At the same time, ancient Greeks didn’t test the metaphysical side of colors and most of their studies dated back to 1550 BC were concentrated on the scientific aspects of color “cures”. Later on, Aristotle discovered the way to produce the third color by mixing two colors, specifically yellow and blue.
And now we come to the pioneer of color studies, Isaac Newton, who published his first paper on color spreading in 1672. He concluded that white light could be treated as a combination of seven differently colored rays. Since his book of “Opticks”, the color studies have been up and running.
Color affects creativity
Luckily we live in the information era when most people are open to new ideas and experiments however progressive and ridiculous they may seem. For this reason, color therapy is no longer treated as something purely hypothetical or philosophical. Today we got used to paying attention to our thinking process and evaluating our inner state, so we can easily determine how different factors and activities such as coloring influence our mood.
Are you interested in boosting your productivity and becoming more creative? Let’s learn the top 4 colors which can help us accomplish that:
- The blue color is known as a stable color with a calming effect. It can help you stay concentrated on tasks during the day.
- The red color is considered to be the best one for tasks involving physical activities. This is the top productivity color that can even increase the heart rate and blood flow.
- The yellow color is an optimistic color that stimulates creativity. It is preferred by many designers and colorists, who need inspiration.
- The green color is treated as the best color for people who spend hours on end in the office because it decreases eye fatigue and helps us remain calm and efficient throughout the day.
Colors influence our psyche
Now we are going to consider the top six colors and check deeper how these colors influence our body, mind, and emotions from the viewpoint of color therapy.
Red
The red color is usually treated as the most powerful color. Remember that it’s basically the first color to grab our attention, though technically it can’t be called the most visible one. The main effect of the red color is physical; it can stimulate us and raise the pulse rate. Some scientists claim this color to provide an impression of time passing faster than it really is. Red is strong and it’s probably the simplest color, with no subtlety. A straight color with a masculine principle that may activate the so-called “fight or flight response”, making us feel that we need to react in order to survive. From this viewpoint, it can be treated as demanding and aggressive.
Blue
Blue is the main color to affect us mentally rather than physically. Deep blue colors can stimulate our mental activities, clearing our thoughts and calming our mind. This effect may be considered as a deep concentration, sort of a meditative state. Some social studies proved blue color to be the world’s favorite color. By some people, however, it can be recognized as cold and apathetic.
Yellow
This color is the strongest color, psychologically providing the most effective stimulus. Deep yellow can greatly uplift our mood and self-esteem. The color of confident and optimistic people. But one should stay away from concentrating too much on yellow, because it may cause our self-esteem to come down with a run, generating fear and inner discomfort.
Green
The green color is affecting us on a primitive level, giving us a feeling of tranquility. Multiple shades of green in the world around us can decrease the inner level of threat to our life and the need to survive. In other words, we are soothed by the green color, as if we are located in the naturally safe environment. The negative impact of green is that it can also be perceived as being too weak and bland, symbolizing boredom.
Pink
The pink color is often considered to be the feminine color. But could you ever think that some pink shades are even used in prisons to keep inmates calm? Many researchers proved that pink does have a calming effect. For this reason, pink is associated with early childhood, when parents purchase pink toys to babies. However, the pink color is treated as a color of femininity not only because of that but also because of the color characteristics it possesses: compassion, kindness, and creativity.
Brown
The brown color is a relaxing color that makes us feel safe and secure. For this reason, brown is probably the best color for your furniture. Generally brown is similar to green from the viewpoint of color psychology, because it symbolizes life and growth, being a color of the earth. However many people find the brown color very boring, considering it to be unattractive and dull.
Zodiac signs have power colors
Did you know that your zodiac sign has power colors? If you are interested in astrology and horoscopes we would like to offer you this brief overview of all the zodiac signs and colors referred to them. Undoubtedly colors carry certain energetic impulses, so let’s find out what’s your astrological color.
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- Aries color: red. This color motivates your soul and enhances passion, boosting your energy and initiative!
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- Taurus color: green. This color enhances your spiritual energy and strengthens your connection with nature thereby enabling your spiritual growth.
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- Gemini color: yellow. This color inspires your body and soul, triggering curiosity and positive thinking.
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- Cancer colors: white and silver. These colors can help you reconnect with your deep intuitional senses, allowing love to flow at its deepest levels.
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- Leo color: gold. This shining color fills your heart with warmth and encourages you to have a positive attitude to life.
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- Virgo colors: green and brown. This combination of two colors will help you stay grounded and concentrated on growth, looking for a constant self-improvement.
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- Libra colors: pink and blue. A mixture of soft pink and airy blue colors symbolize open-heartedness. They contribute to the sense of tranquility and help you be more relaxed.
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- Scorpio color: black. This strong mysterious color allows you to concentrate on transformation. It can enhance your inner strength, help you sort out self-contradictions and welcome positive changes.
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- Sagittarius color: purple. This color stimulates and encourages your constant philosophical exploration and thirst for knowledge. Purple also is associated with spirituality and intuition.
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- Capricorn colors: brown and grey. These two colors can definitely help you stay strong on your way to success, allowing you to make the right decisions and choose a better path in life.
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- Aquarius color: blue. Soothing blue color can stimulate your brain to create brilliant ideas and help you balance an inner struggle between your mind and energy.
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- Pisces color: light green. The best color for those who are willing to dive deeper into subconsciousness with one main goal – to heal and renew their body and soul.
Color therapy is a part of your hobby
Adult coloring is a popular and creative activity that is interconnected with color therapy. You are applying different colors to your artworks but in major cases, your intuition helps you define the colors you would like to use for this or that specific coloring page. This may be the voice of your subconsciousness, trying to help you improve your mood.
Below we provide multiple examples of the ways color influences our thinking, mood, and emotions, or even improves it while coloring printable coloring pages for adults. Let’s check out in more detail how different colors can be used to produce a positive effect on our personality and life in overall.
CONFIDENCE
If you want to increase your level of confidence, make sure to use red and black colors. The black color gives you strength and power while red will make you feel more energetic and active.
CREATIVITY
Try using blue in you coloring artworks. This color will definitely stimulate your creativity and boost your openness and contemplation, letting you focus on serenity.
HAPPINESS
If you combine orange and yellow on your coloring page, you may experience some positive changes in your mood. Keep on mixing these colors and you should definitely feel the effect of mood improvement.
TRANQUILITY
Are you feeling distressed? You should try a combination of light green and soft blue colors. Green will help you establish a calm state of mind and soft blue will add a sense of serenity.
ROMANTICISM
You can take your pink gel pens and actively use pink colors throughout the artwork. Pink tends to be calming and inspiring. For the same reason, it is referred to as the color of romance and love.
VITALITY
Start using red colors and shades! They will charge your inner “power bank” and help you infuse vitality. Red is a perfect color not only for adult coloring but also for everyday life. Try adding some red elements to your wardrobe and you will feel charged and motivated.
INTUITION
Apply purple colors to your coloring page. This will help you get in touch with your inner voice – intuition. Purple is also known as a “restorer” of psychical powers.
Eight colors that secretly influence us every day
We see how color therapy and our psychology work together side by side every day. Let’s learn more about some colors that surround us and how they influence our state. Keep this information in mind when doing your daily routine, going shopping or even coloring your next adult coloring page.
RED
This color is often used by fast-food chains because it encourages appetite. In addition, it creates a sense of urgency. The red color is associated with excitement and passion and is often used to signal a sale and for impulsive shoppers. Brands using red color: Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Netflix.
BLUE
It is associated with water and peace. The main hidden message of this color is a sense of reliability that it gives. Blue color provides a sense of trust in a brand, and it is the most preferred color by men. Many conservative brands are using blue shades: Facebook, Walmart, AT&T.
GREEN
It stimulates a sense of harmony in our brains so that is why this color is used in stores. The main idea is to make customers feel relaxed because it is the easiest color for the eyes and it also brings freshness and serenity. What is more, a green color is also associated with money and wealth. Brands using green color: Whole Foods, Starbucks.
PURPLE
Purple is a strong color, associated with royalty, respect, and wisdom. It can be often seen in beauty and anti-aging products. This color may represent creative and imaginative brands. Brands using purple color: Yahoo, Taco Bell.
ORANGE & YELLOW
As you already know, orange can bring us to a more optimistic state. Orange itself is often referred to as a “friendly” color while the combination of orange and yellow stimulates the logic center of the brain that is responsible for our enthusiasm. A peachy shade of orange color is known to appeal to an upscale market. It creates a strong call to action. Brands using orange color: Nickelodeon, Fanta, Amazon.
BLACK
This color is usually used as a symbol of intelligence. It is associated with stability and power in business. A bright example of this color is Uber (on-demand ride service), offering luxury vehicles known as Uber Black if a customer wants to attract attention to his arrival. It produces a classic effect of sophistication for more expensive products. But at the same time, this color can be depressing if used too frequently. Brands using black color: Uber, NY Times. Guinness.
WHITE
It is associated with safety and purity. Many companies use white colors when promoting their products to accentuate the creative aspect of their work, also to produce a feeling of uniqueness and originality and highlight the fact that their products were exclusively designed and made from scratch. This color is an indicator that a company has nothing to hide from you. Apple is probably the only brand using this color very professionally.
Conclusion
We have provided 6 surprising facts about color therapy and the ways colors affect our mood, productivity, and even customer behavior.
We hope that using our tips you will be able to define the right colors for your everyday life and your favorite hobby as well. Even one and the same coloring page can be colored in different shades and combinations.
So if you want to lift up your spirit and boost self-confidence, stay on the bright side of the color palette!
