Tweak Your Brain With Colors
For an all-natural brain boost, skip the pills and hit the colors.
In the latest and most authoritative study on color’s cognitive effects, test subjects given attention-demanding tasks did best when primed with the color red. Asked to be creative, they responded best to blue.
“Color enhances performance,” said study co-author Juliet Zhu, a University of British Columbia psychologist.
Previous research on red’s effects on the brain have found that it attracts people to food and can enhance sexual arousal. But research on the color’s cognitive effects have been mixed: Studies have linked red to cognitive impairment on IQ tests, telemarketing pitches and analytical problem-solving, but also to improvements on low-demand tasks and clerical work. The latest findings tip the balance toward the red-as-brain-booster results and fits with work that showed a link between the color and arousal of neurobiological awareness and vigilance.
“Think about red, and what comes to mind: stop lights, stop signs, danger, ambulances,” said Zhu. “People want to avoid those things, and that’s why they do better on detail-oriented tasks.”
While earlier studies tended not to test creativity, Zhu’s findings provide a plausible explanation for blue’s apparent role.
“Blue is the color of the sky, the ocean, safety,” she said. “When their environment is safe, people are more explorative.”
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Photo by Wired.
Sarah on February 13th, 2009 10:25 am
I have heard that red is the color worn during Indian weddings for the reason stated above…
nannag on February 14th, 2009 4:31 pm
I like this one article, thanks to share us
Jaclyn on February 15th, 2009 7:19 am
That was very interesting. i can see the results with the color red…as it creates a sense of alertness, warning, pay attention! everywhere you look all important thing’s such as road signs, stop lights, etc. are in red…it get’s your attention. however, i don’t really feel more creative when i look at the color blue. i actually don’t really care for blue….but that is just me.
cassy on February 15th, 2009 7:32 pm
colors brings us attraction,every color in the color wheel has its own used,they are very important too.like for example if you want your home to be more attractive then you paint it with your favorate color,like me i love white and green!why? coz white for me means purity,peace and comfort. green is for environment coz i love natures and forest.also red and blue are one of my favorate!
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