Health & colour – how does that fit together?

Mar 10, 2022 | room design

Health and colour – hardly anyone would connect these two topics, but they have more in common than it seems at first glance. Colours can have different effects in a room, they influence our personal mood and can convey joie de vivre. All of these properties have made colour a conscious tool for promoting health in the past. Colour is used specifically to enhance people’s health and healing. There are already numerous studies on the fact that colours affect the well-being and happiness of people. A very interesting study on the effects of colours and light on human health is the Helios study “Colour in health buildings” from the University Hospital Wuppertal, in which even the consumption of neuroleptics fell by 30.1% after a redesign. But these studies are by no means new fads, because colour therapy is one of the oldest treatment methods. It was originally based on the healing effects of sunlight, but then it was realized that each colour had specific effects. As early as ancient Egypt, temples were built with coloured rooms so that the sick could heal in them. Colour therapy has also been used successfully in other cultures such as India, Peru and China for a very long time.
But what does that mean in concrete terms? In order to show which properties are associated with which colour in relation to health and well-being and how this can be used in a room, here is a brief overview of the individual colours:
Yellow

A sunny yellow is refreshing, puts you in a good mood and counteracts depression. The colour yellow also has a nerve-strengthening effect and increases concentration, making it the ideal wall colour for a study or playroom. Thanks to its properties, yellow is also a popular wall colour in dining and living rooms.

In this example, the walls of a playroom have been painted with our Sydney Sun CC 032

Orange

Like the colour yellow, orange has a mood-enhancing effect, creates joie de vivre and relieves depression. The colour orange is also appetizing and is therefore ideal as a wall colour for the kitchen. Since orange rooms invite you to linger in a cosy, friendly, sociable way, it is also particularly popular in dining and living rooms. But orange also stimulates creativity and can therefore also be used in play/craft rooms or part of the children’s room.

Red

Red activates, invigorates and increases energy. Therefore, the color red is very suitable for active rooms and fitness rooms, but also for the kitchen or passageways. Like the colour orange, red has an appetizing effect and is also suitable for dining rooms. However, since red also leads to restlessness, its use as a wall colour in the bedroom should be chosen with care, as it can also disturb sleep.

Red is also ideal for a hallway, this one was painted in our Marrakesh Red CC 048

Violet

Purple encourages creativity and spirituality, making it suitable for workrooms or meditation rooms. This tone should be avoided in the bedroom, as violet has an anti-lust effect.

Blue

Blue promotes calm, relaxation and balance in general and also causes breathing to become deeper and calmer. Blue is of course also an ideal color for bathrooms and wellness areas. In the bedroom, a blue is just as well suited as it promotes sleep. However, you should always combine blue in the bedroom with a hint of a warm colour, as blue also has a cooling effect and it can otherwise make you shiver.

Turquoise

Turquoise is the ideal color for workspaces, offices and conference rooms as it has been shown to reduce the effects of electrosmog and also enhance perception and creative expression. Turquoise rooms also have a relaxing effect, so turquoise is also ideal for bathrooms.

Green

Green is considered the healing colour par excellence, as it is a mixture of yellow and blue and combines the positive effects of both colours. This colour has a particularly calming effect and conveys a feeling of balance. This color can therefore be used particularly well in bathrooms, bedrooms or treatment rooms.

Toilet in Abu Dhabi Petrol CC 081, this shade combines the properties of blue and green