Choosing the right colours to surround yourself with can have a significant impact on your mood and happiness levels. Certain colours have been shown to lift spirits, promote creativity, and even help calm anxieties. In determining what colour makes you happiest, consider how different hues make you feel and what colours you are consistently drawn to in both nature and your home decor.
How Do Colours Affect Moods?
Colours can evoke emotional responses and impact our moods in powerful ways. Here’s an overview of how some common colours make us feel:
| Colour | Mood & Feelings Evoked |
|---|---|
| Red | Energy, excitement, intensity |
| Orange | Enthusiasm, creativity, adventure |
| Yellow | Optimism, confidence, friendliness |
| Green | Balance, growth, renewal |
| Blue | Calmness, tranquility, stability |
| Purple | Luxury, spirituality, imagination |
Research has found links between colours and emotions. Warm colours like red, orange, and yellow can evoke feelings of excitement, energy, and joy. Cooler colours like green and blue are often calming and soothing. Bright, saturated colours tend to be more stimulating, while softer, muted shades are relaxing.
Primary Colours and Mood
The three primary colours – red, blue, and yellow – each have unique effects on mood:
- Red: Associated with energy, passion, and love. Red can boost metabolism, heart rate, and blood pressure. It’s an intense, vivid shade that can make you feel invigorated.
- Blue: Linked to tranquility, relaxation, and loyalty. Looking at different shades of blue can lower blood pressure and heart rate. Blue light has even been used in the treatment of seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
- Yellow: Tied to optimism, confidence, and creativity. Yellow stimulates mental activity and can create a boost of optimism and happiness. However, too much yellow may cause feelings of anxiety.
Surrounding yourself with accents of vibrant primary colours is one way to incorporate uplifting shades into your environment.
Colour Psychology
Beyond general emotional responses to colour, psychology offers some insights into why certain colours make us feel and behave in specific ways:
- Red: Associated with dominance, aggression, and excitement. Red increases appetite, heart rate, and energy levels.
- Orange: Represents enthusiasm, creativity, and determination. Orange can boost mood and create feelings of warmth.
- Yellow: Symbolizes optimism, positivity, and confidence, while also stimulating mental clarity. However, it can also provoke anxiety.
- Green: Represents growth, peace, and health. Natural shades of green can soothe, relax, and help heal.
- Blue: Evokes stability, tranquility, and calmness. Light blue shades are refreshing while dark blues seem more strong and reliable.
- Purple: Associated with luxury, imagination, and spirituality. Darker purples suggest mystery and magic.
This deeper understanding of colour psychology can help guide your choices when deciding what colours to integrate into your surroundings.
Favourite Colours and Personality
Your favourite colour can also offer insight into your personality and inclinations. While not an exact science, general patterns exist between preferred colours and character traits:
| Favourite Colour | Associated Personality Traits |
|---|---|
| Red | Confident, passionate, outgoing |
| Orange | Friendly, energetic, adventurous |
| Yellow | Optimistic, playful, creative |
| Green | Calm, focused, balanced |
| Blue | Loyal, wise, sensitive |
| Purple | Imaginative, mystical, wise |
When decorating your home or choosing items like clothes or accessories, opt for colours that align with your personality and temperament.
Colour Meanings by Culture
Colour associations can also vary across cultures. Here are some of the common meanings certain colours have in different societies:
- Red: Signifies luck and joy in China. Associated with mourning in South Africa.
- Orange: Represents love and happiness in the Middle East. A colour of mourning in Ethiopia.
- Yellow: Symbolizes courage in Japan. Represents merchants in Egypt.
- Green: Represents fertility and life in China. Seen as the colour of Islam in many countries.
- Blue: Stands for immortality and spirituality in India. Associated with mourning in Iran.
- Purple: The colour of wisdom in many ancient cultures. Symbolizes wealth in Thailand.
Consider cultural interpretations of colour when decorating, choosing clothing, or selecting gifts for friends and family.
Nature’s Colours and Wellbeing
Natural colours found in the outdoors also have significant impacts on mood and happiness. Here are some of the ways nature’s palette can brighten your outlook:
- Greenery: Shades of green promote healing, renewal, and harmony.
- Blue Skies: Looking up at a clear blue sky can immediately boost your mood.
- Sunshine: Warm yellow and gold tones energize and lift your spirit.
- Water: Blue hues of lakes, rivers, or oceans are calming and peaceful.
- Sunsets: Vibrant red and orange sunset colours inspire awe and joy.
- Flowers: Bursts of colour from flowers create feelings of cheerfulness.
Spending time in nature and exposing yourself to the healing properties of its vibrant colours is a simple way to boost happiness. Try taking a walk in the park, sitting near water, or looking for colourful flowers.
Home Decor and Colour Choices
Incorporating colours that make you feel happier into your home décor is an impactful way to create a positive living environment. Here are tips for selecting home accent colours based on mood:
- Opt for warm reds, oranges, or yellows in living spaces where you want to feel energized.
- Choose calming blues and greens for bedrooms to promote relaxation.
- Add bright, joyful colours like yellow or light blue to a child’s room.
- Paint an accent wall in a favourite vibrant colour as a mood booster.
- Select furnishings like pillows, throws, and rugs in colours that lift your spirit.
- Display fresh flowers or houseplants with uplifting greens and colours.
Remember that colour preferences are personal, so opt for shades that make you happiest, rather than what’s trendy or expected.
Using Colour to Lift Your Mood
Even small pops of a favourite colour can brighten your outlook. Here are simple ways to incorporate more mood-boosting colour into your daily life:
- Wear clothing in colours that uplift you.
- Drink from a vibrant coloured mug or water bottle.
- Use coloured pens and notebooks that make you smile.
- Display photos or art in frames with your favourite shades.
- Add happy colour accents like throw blankets, pillows, or area rugs.
- Surround yourself with fresh flowers featuring uplifting colours.
- Wear or display coloured glass, stones, or accessories.
Aim to immerse yourself in colours that spark positive emotions to give your mood and happiness an instant lift whenever needed.
Finding Your Happiest Colour
Choosing colours that make you happiest is a personal exploration. Consider what shades you consistently feel drawn to, both in nature and manmade spaces. Notice how wearing or being around certain colours impacts your mood.
You may find you’re energized by warm tones like orange and yellow or prefer cool shades like green and blue. Vibrant, saturated hues might promote creativity while soft, muted colours relax you. Your favourite colour could also change over time.
By surrounding yourself with the colours that resonate most, you can create an uplifting environment that supports improved mood, outlook, and wellbeing.
Conclusion
Colours have a profound effect on mood, emotions, and happiness. While colour associations are complex, warm tones like red, orange, and yellow can stimulate energy and positivity. Cooler shades of blue and green often have calming impacts. How colour impacts you personally can vary based on psychological and cultural factors. Connecting with colours found abundantly in the natural world also has mood-boosting benefits. Incorporating your happiest hues into living spaces, clothing, and accessories can be uplifting. Surround yourself with colours that ignite positive emotions within you to boost your spirit and outlook.
