Be Purposeful About Shading Decisions
While picking tones for anything, from the shade of the dividers in your space to the shade of garments you wear, choose colors that you see as invigorating or inspire positive feelings.
Its critical to note that shading treatment doesnt fill in as a definitive treatment for mental ailments. Assuming you are encountering a condition, for example, sadness or a state of mind problem, its vital to address your primary care physician about it.
How To Use Flower Colour Therapy To Boost Your Mood
For Lara Sanjar of Wild Renata Flowers, working with blooms and colour helped to ease her anxiety.
“Floristry was a practice I started experimenting with when I was signed off work with anxiety and depression in 2013, while working in the advertising industry,” she says.
“I found that using my hands and working with natural elements helped calm my over-active brain and silence the thoughts which used to manifest into anxiety.
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“It was from that day onwards that I decided to pursue floristry as a possible career change and since then have never looked back. It is my passion, my work, my love and my medicine.”
She first noticed that flowers improved her mood when a friend brought her a big bunch of pink peonies while she was off work. “On the day of receiving these, that everything changed,” she explains.
“As I began attempting to arrange the flowers I realised my hectic, anxious mind had been silenced and I was in a state of calm working with these blousy new friends. The healing properties of flowers has from then onwards been a focus for me, from their beautiful colours to their scent and how they can help calm my soul.”
Lara shares some of her favourite uplifting flower colours:
Crisp Linen Benjamin Moore
Some studies suggest that clearing visual clutter can help reduce anxiety and depression. While that can often mean you have too much stuff or need to tidy up, visual clutter can also correlate to design. Clear your canvas with a lovely off-white. Whites with a yellow undertone, such as Crisp Linen, feel creamy and soft, unlike cool whites, which can feel stark, sterile or clinical. Think of laundry drying on a line in the sun.
Ways to use the hue: If its not for your walls, consider swapping out patterned bedding and bright towels and shower curtains.
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Color Your World To Relieve Stress
– November 16, 2018
The world is full of color, and like everyone else, you have your own likes and dislikes. You may have noticed that certain colors can alter your mood. What you may not realize, though, is that color can affect you subconsciously as well.
In many cultures, color is used to promote health and wellness. For instance, some practitioners of feng shui and acupuncture incorporate the use of color in the form of gemstones, candles, fabrics and prisms. This practice, which is known as chromotherapy, is a form of alternative medicine that uses color and light to restore imbalances in an individuals physical, mental, emotional or spiritual energy.
How different colors can impact your well-being
Different colors can produce different physical, emotional and psychological effects. While some colors are calming, others are stimulating. Surrounding yourself with appropriate colors can help you harness their unique benefits, such as stress reduction. Consider the potential effects of some common colors:
Learn more about the Arts in Medicine Program.
The Science Behind Color Therapy
The truth is, science-backed research on color therapy is still pretty limited.
Its a very new field of research, at least in the medical world. Many researchers told me theyve faced resistance when trying to get funding for studies involving color therapies.
Ive been met with a lot of resistance when I proposed light as a therapeutic approach, says Mohab Ibrahim, PhD, MD, associate professor of anesthesiology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson.
People would say, why not work on drugs? Itll be easier to get published. And to a certain extent, thats true, he says.
Still, Ibrahim is committed to his work.
Colors have certain biological and psychological effects on people, and I think its about time we start taking advantage of it, he says.
As of right now, medical science cant confirm whether color or colored lights will treat your physical ailments or help improve your mental health.
However, theres some evidence to back up the idea that colored lights can have effects on our bodies, our pain levels, and our moods.
For example, light therapy is used to treat seasonal affective disorder, a type of depression that typically appears during fall and winter.
Blue light phototherapy is commonly used in hospitals to treat neonatal jaundice, a condition affecting babies. The condition causes high levels of bilirubin in the blood, making the skin and eyes turn yellow.
In addition, suggests that during the day, blue light can improve:
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Peaceful Colors That Are Relaxing
Home » Interior Design » 10 Peaceful Colors That Are Relaxing
Looking for some colors that are relaxing? Then youll love this list with ten beautiful and peaceful colors to surround yourself with.
Work overload. Long list of to-dos. Social media updates. Bills to pay. In a world with so many impulses and demands, it doesnt take much to make us feel anxious and stressed out.
However, by choosing the right wall color, you can reduce your stress levels and calm yourself down. The best part is you dont have to give up aesthetic appeal to achieve a sense of calm.
Science has proved color psychology, although ambiguous, is real, and colors have a massive effect on us emotionally, physically, and psychologically. Therefore, simply looking at some colors that are relaxing might reduce your anxiety. Lets get to them.
Keep Calm And Carry On With Blisslights
Here at BlissLights, our color lighting options can help you remain calm in any indoor setting. This doesnt just mean your home it can mean friends houses, hotels, or even your office. Our easiest solution for taking calming red lights on the go is our StarPort as mentioned earlier, and our SkyLite Laser Galaxy Projector fits neatly in your backpack or travel bag too. Use our laser lights to center yourself wherever you are, whether youve had a stressful day or are already close to achieving zen browse our shop to find the perfect light for your serenity!
Citations
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How To Get Started
While the science behind color therapy is still largely unsubstantiated, its completely harmless to practice certain aspects of color therapy on your own. Here are some ways you can get started with experimenting with color therapy:
- Get rid of blue lights at nighttime for better sleep. Research has shown that the blue light in your laptops, phones, and televisions can affect your circadian rhythm, which affects your sleep quality. Wearing anti-blue light glasses or turning the settings on your gadgets to warmer yellow tones has been found to help.
- Bask in nature. The greens of leaves and grass we get in abundance in nature can positively relax us.
- Be intentional about color choices. When picking colors for anything, from the color of the walls in your room to the color of clothes you wear, choose colors that you find stimulating or elicit positive emotions.
Its important to reiterate that color therapy doesnt serve as a definitive treatment for any mental or physical health conditions. If you are experiencing a condition such as depression, its important to speak to your doctor about it.
History Of Color Therapy
An article in Scientific American discusses the color cure, which was first used in a mental asylum at a place called Wards Island in an attempt to cure mental illnesses like depression or melancholy , violent behavior , insanity , or mania .
The results of these color therapies were never fully documented, but various empirical comments note that, for example, red would help a person struggling with melancholy to become more animated and involved in the environment, while pale blue or green would calm someone who was agitated. This is the historical basis behind color therapy, or chromotherapy.
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How Does It Work
Colors carry certain vibrations and frequency that are utilized to break up a particular disturbing energy in the body. Although there are standard colors utilized amongst the general population, for some individuals one particular color may not work in the way it would for other people. In those cases the individual receiving the therapy would then discover which color tends to work best for them.
For instance, the color violet vibrates at a very high frequency and vibration. The wavelength for violet measured in nanometers is 425-400 nm and the frequency is measured at 700 to 790 Terahertz . In color therapy it would be utilized to lift the Spirit, calming the body and enhancing the ability to fall asleep, a useful therapy for those with insomnia.
Okay, understanding the utilization of light and color therapy on the outside of the body is more acceptable to our minds than using our imagination to create the color and utilize it for healing. Why? Most human beings consider their inner feelings to be the direct result of outward circumstances. “I am a very angry person because people in my life have treated me badly.” While it is true that people have been treated badly by other people, some of the vibrational frequency of the emotion is directly tied to a particular perception of persecution and not always entirely factual. The mind is much more powerful than we realize and most internal issues are directly related to the actual perception of a circumstance.
For example:
The Negative Effects Of Too Much Blue Light
Too much of a good thing is a bad thing. In other words, excessive exposure to blue light, especially at the wrong times, can be detrimental to our health. From eye strain to disrupted circadian rhythms that the blue light can cause, it has to be used strategically. Prior to artificial light, all blue light naturally came from the sun. This was ideal because the sun was only out during the day and not at night. In our modern world, artificial blue light is everywhere. We come in contact with bright lights after sundown. Perhaps the biggest culprits for excessive exposure to artificial blue light are our smartphones, tablets, and computers. We are constantly using these devices in the evening hours.
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Hurricane Cuts On Palms
Think of your situation are you anxious? Fearful?
Now think of a color that soothes your feeling. Dont worry if it takes a couple different examples, it is important to listen to your body and discover the color that works best for you.
Do you see that color?
Now take a deep breath and imagine pulling this color into your body like a vapor. When you exhale, imagine the leaving your body. Do this a few times until you begin to feel the shift in your body and you begin to feel better.
Now imagine a glass or cup with liquid in your chosen color. Imagine drinking it down and feel how your body responds.
Now imagine that color is filling up your body you begin to feel
Invite that color to come into your body whenever you need it.
How Does It Help Anxiety Or Pain
For someone with generalized anxiety, there is a two-fold trigger. One is the original thought that triggered the “fight or flight” mechanism in the body and anxiety is part of this process. Then the feeling of anxiety creates even more anxiety and the ball can really get going. At times, the trigger thought is barely noticeable but if this individual is prone to chronic anxiety the body reacts much quicker and the anxiety response can reach its peak much more quickly. By this time it is difficult to get a hold of their thought processes and panic will then ensue making it next to impossible to manage the whole anxiety/panic response.
Some people have much quicker anxiety responses than others. We are all different so when someone who has not experienced chronic anxiety witnesses a severe anxiety attack in another individual it may be difficult for them to be of assistance as they cannot relate to how problematic it is for some to manage their anxiety. Color therapy can assist those with anxiety disorders in that using a particular color to calm the body will bring them to a place where they can actually function enough to process through the attack. It can also be useful for another individual to assist the victim of the anxiety by coaching them through using the color therapy technique.
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Techniques Of Color Therapy
There are two major techniques of color therapy. It can either be done through sight, that is, by looking at a particular color in hopes that it elicits the desired response in your body, or by directly reflecting certain colors on parts of the body.
Color therapists believe that color can enter our bodies either through our eyes or skin. Each color we can see has its wavelength and unique frequency. Each unique frequency has a different effect on people and is used for different purposes. Warm colors are typically used for stimulating effects, while cool colors are used for calming effects.
Types Of Color Therapy
In color therapy, it is believed that different colors are able to impact the body differently.
- Red: Red is used to energize or invigorate a person who might be feeling tired or down. However, red may also trigger people who might already be tense.
- Blue: Chromatherapists use blue to try and influence depression and pain. Darker shades of blue are also thought to have sedative properties and may be tried for people who experience insomnia or other sleeping disorders.
- Green: Green is the color of nature, and according to chromatherapists, it can help relieve stress and relax a person.
- Yellow: Yellow can be used to improve your mood and make you more happy and optimistic.
- Orange: Orange, much like yellow, can be used to elicit happy emotions from people. The bright warm color is also thought to be able to stimulate appetite and mental activity.
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What Is The Most Stress Reducing Color
Dont get caught up on the saying Im feeling blue. Blue is one of the most stress reducing colors because it is associated with the ocean and the skytwo seemingly infinite and boundless elements of nature. It is associated with depth, faith, and tranquility.
Pale blue is like the color of the sky, associated with the clouds and airiness. A crisp pale blue is a clean, calming color that can be used for bedrooms and bathrooms. This neutral color will make any space calm and restful.
Color psychology states that shades of blue are considered stressful colors in relation to food. Despite blues ability to form a relaxing color scheme, refrain from painting dining rooms and kitchens any shade of blue as its the most un-appetizing color to the brain.
What Is Blue Light And How Can It Help If Used Properly
Many people have questions about the visible color spectrum. Every color that is included on the spectrum is associated with a different wavelength, energy, and frequency. For example, red light has the longest wavelength at approximately 700 nanometers. On the other end of the scale is violet light with only 400 nanometers.
When it comes to blue light, it is the most energized color of all. It is the highest frequency light with shorter wavelengths that range from 450 nanometers to 495 nanometers. Blue light can be combined with other colors to produce white light. When it comes to a natural environment, sunlight is the top producer of all blue light. The only other sources of blue light used today are fluorescent lights, LEDs, and modern electronics. This includes smartphones, tablets, laptops, gaming equipment, and television.
While we do receive blue light from all the sources mentioned above, blue light therapy uses a different kind of blue light that is far more therapeutic than a smartphone. Light has a profound impact on our bodies and brain. The circadian rhythm is responsible for preparing our bodies for changes in the environment, activity, and appetite. Our bodies rely upon external cues to indicate what we should be doing at that time of day. Out of all the colors, blue light has the most intense effect.
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