Light and color create more than visual effects (image, shape, intensity, perception, contrast). They have biological and psychological health effects.
Light has an impact on life. It can improve or interrupt the dream, the cognition and the welfare general. It can improve the mood, stabilize the ritmo circadiano and with it, the night dream. It can also bring relief in the depression and activate ourselves to have a shorter reaction time.
Rachel and Stephen Kaplan, professors of psychology at the University of Michigan, have conducted numerous studies on how humans react to the environment. One of them is The experience of nature: a psychological perspective. In it they speak of brightness, saturation and tonality.
Brightness. Bright light can intensify emotions, while dim light stabilizes them (does not disappear). This suggests that people make more rational decisions and are more willing to negotiate and compromise in this last enlightened condition.
Saturation is the intensity of a color. Higher saturation amplifies emotions. Dull colors can reduce them.
And in terms of tonality, light acquires different properties. La natural can create a more joyful environment, but the artificial can be manipulated to create different emotions and physical reactions.
- Blue light fills us with energy and it can interrupt sleep, if used at night, because it suppresses melatonin levels. It is capable of affecting the circadian rhythm of blind people, inclusive.
- For sleep, the red or amber light has the least impact on the internal clock. Red light at night can increase melatonin secretion, which leads to better night’s sleep, increased cognition, and mental health.
All this contributes to creating the environment in which we develop, color and illuminate, sometimes unconsciously.
Creating better everyday environments
The theme of the environment has special emphasis now. Dr. Mónica Llanos Encalada, clinical psychologist, indicates that the trend is the use of natural light and open spaces.
Today the architectural designs propose large windows, open spaces, skylights, semi-transparent ceilings, so that as much natural light as possible enters.
That is why banks, airports, shopping centers are very bright places, even by artificial means, to create a mood in alert and well-being, as opposed to shady or dim places, in which workers or visitors could be downcast, in states of drowsiness.
This is noticeable in depression, in grieving states or in mental disorders, in which people tend to withdraw and sleep during the day. Sleep is an “escape route” to suffering, says the psychologist. Contact with nature, on the contrary, benefits. “Direct sunlight not only has a psychological effect, but also affects the immune system and therefore in the state of mind ”.
Bearing this in mind, Llanos explains that it is not only that we are influenced by what surrounds us, but that sometimes, unconsciously or impulsively, we surround ourselves with elements that do not help us in the long term.
When you are in very high or very low moods, don’t make decisions that you will have to live with for months or years. Like painting environments where you spend considerable time: office, office, study, workshop, kitchen, rest areas … or clothing.
“Personality is reflected in color. Open your closet and see what colors rule, the dark? Maybe it means that you want to go unnoticed, you want to hide in your clothes or you are down ”.
Choose consciously the colors of the place or the objects with which you are going to get around on a daily basis. Take an inventory of the colors that predominate. The light ones, the strong ones, the dark ones, the fashionable ones?
“I am not against the dark, but we need to choose colors unconsciously, thinking about what effect they will have on us day after day, knowing that what looks good in another place or in another person does not necessarily apply in our case ”. That is why, in ‘peaks’ of emotion, it is better not to buy or make decisions with lasting effects.
The prominence of lighting
During the pandemic, Llanos notes, the demand for construction and decoration materials increased, because being confined, people sought to be more comfortable. Which does not mean having more luxuries. “Homes are not decoration stores,” he adds. “They are places to share”, not to store.
If the home is not pleasant for the inhabitant, no matter how much has been invested in it, it will turn outward. “Before these two years the culture of being with family, of sharing leisure, to play. Confinement, by force, made us resume certain customs ”.
And now? “We have to learn to live in balance.” Not being locked up anymore, but having a home in which we feel comfortable, and not suffocated. “The first person who feels comfortable at home should be me; if I succeed, the rest will too. “
Home is not just a place to sleep. It is very important to enjoy it. “Many spend years wanting to have their own home, and then the time spent there is so minimal that it becomes a contradiction.”
The psychologist encourages concentrating on common spaces, such as living rooms, where the family can gather. “Not to create house-museums, luxury houses, but houses to live in.”
Take advantage of sunlight at home, standard colors. It is not a decorative setback, says the psychologist. “It is something cyclical, to re-appreciate the simple, natural things.” For example, think of large windows or bay windows, whenever possible, so that light enters and your spaces can be oxygenated (which is also recommended).
Try not to clog your entire land with cement. Every home should have a green space, patio or small balcony where you go out for a moment to sit, have a coffee, garden, talk. It is impressive, says Llanos, the feeling of well-being just by changing the color or the light source of an environment. “I must be aware that I need that space.” Do you want to share something good with your family? Offer them the possibility of light.
Let there be light
The direction of a light source can transform spaces and impact the way people feel there. Llanos underlines it, and with her the Society of Lighting Engineers of America (IES), scientific grouping of more than a century of existence.
Light positioned above eye level can create a feeling of restraint, formality, sobriety. Light located below eye level can cause a more intimate, informal feeling, highlighting the importance of the individual.
The IES has created its own primer in which it shows these effects and how they impact a space in more detail. Use it to analyze and improve your own site.
- Intense light right on the person: tension.
- Pendant light, close to the person, with additional lighting around the perimeter, in warm colors: relaxation.
- Bright light on the work surface or on the wall, in cool tones: productivity and visual clarity.
- Bright light on the walls and ceiling: breadth, space.
- Very low light, at the same level as the person, with little perimeter and with dark areas in the rest of the environment: privacy, intimacy. (F)
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
