Mood necklaces, also known as mood rings, are a type of jewelry that changes color in response to the wearer’s emotions or moods. The concept originated in the 1970s, and became wildly popular as a fad. While the technology and accuracy behind mood rings has evolved over the decades, they remain a fun and decorative way for someone to get a general sense of their moods and emotions throughout the day. Understanding the meaning behind the different colors of a mood necklace can provide insight into your varying mood states.
How Mood Necklaces Work
The color change in mood necklaces is made possible by what’s known as a thermochromic liquid crystal. This is a type of liquid crystal that changes color based on temperature. The thermochromic liquid crystal is encased in quartz or acrylic glass and worn against the skin. It is calibrated to match up with standard skin temperature ranges. As your skin temperature fluctuates throughout the day, the thermochromic liquid crystal reacts by changing color. Each color is associated with a specific temperature range and corresponding mood state.
Color Meanings
Here are the most common color meanings associated with mood necklaces:
| Color | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Black | Stressed |
| Blue | Relaxed |
| Green | Normal, balanced |
| Yellow | Excited, positive |
| Brown | Focused |
| Grey | Sad |
| Orange | Anxious, overwhelmed |
| Purple | Happy, romantic |
| Red | Passionate |
As you can see, the colors correspond with common mood states ranging from stressed (black) to happy (purple). The green color is considered the “baseline” color, representing a neutral or balanced mood.
Factors That Influence Color Change
Your body temperature, which determines the mood necklace color, is influenced by a few key factors:
– Emotions – Feeling stressed or anxious can increase skin temperature, causing the necklace to change to darker colors like black or brown. Positive emotions like happiness lower skin temperature, resulting in lighter greens or purples.
– External Temperature – Ambient temperature in your environment also impacts body temperature. If it’s hot outside, the necklace will pick up on that increased body heat.
– Physical Activity – Exercise, movement, and physical activity raises your core body temperature, which the necklace will register.
– Health Factors – Sickness, medications, menstrual cycles, and other health factors affect body temperature and therefore color changes. The accuracy can vary person-to-person.
Limitations
While mood necklaces rely on body temperature changes that correlate with emotions, they have some accuracy limitations:
– They work best for general mood trends over the course of a day, not minute-to-minute fluctuations.
– The technology cannot necessarily distinguish between positive vs. negative mood states that increased temperature like excitement vs. anxiety.
– Outside physical factors like weather and activity can misrepresent your true emotions.
– They may not work as well for those with health conditions affecting body temperature.
Overall, mood necklaces are best considered a novelty item and decorative way to get an approximate sense of your shifting mood states throughout the day. Don’t take the colors as 100% accurate psychological analysis.
Conclusion
Mood necklaces and mood rings use thermochromic liquid crystal technology to change colors based on skin temperature and correlate this with emotional states. Common color meanings include black for stressed, blue for relaxed, green for neutral, and yellow for positive. However, factors like weather and health impact accuracy. While fun and decorative, mood necklaces have limits in their ability to truly detect emotions. But they can provide a general sense of your mood shifts throughout the day if you understand the meaning behind the different colors.
