If you’re stressed out after an argument with a friend or high pressure to meet a work deadline, you may want to ‘decompress’ or relax to feel more grounded. At such a time, all you need to do is be in a place that has blue lighting.
Researchers from the University of Granada, in collaboration with the School for Special Education San Rafael, have proven, by means of an objective evaluation using electrophysiological measurements, that blue lighting accelerates the relaxation process after acute psychosocial stress in comparison with conventional white lighting. They note that psychosocial stress produces some physiological responses that can be measured by means of bio-signals. That stress is very common and negatively affects people’s health and quality of life.
For their work, the results of which have been published in the online journal ‘PlosOne’, the researchers made 12 volunteers to be stressed and then perform a relaxation session within the multisensory stimulation room at the School for Special Education San Rafael. The participants lay down in this room with no stimulus but a blue (group 1) or white (group 2) lighting. Diverse bio-signals, such as heart rate and brain activity, were measured throughout the whole session by means of an electrocardiogram and an electroencephalogram, respectively. The results showed that blue lighting accelerates the relaxation process, in comparison with conventional white lighting.
Cool colours like blue, green, and purple are known to be the most relaxing colours, for they have a soothing effect on both the mind and the body. Colour therapists believe that soft blues will calm the mind and aid concentration. Blue can also lower the pulse rate and body temperature. However, say behavioural experts, the feelings evoked by certain colours are not necessarily universal. Cultural differences can play a role in how people perceive colour and individual experiences also have an impact on the moods that colours can create. Blue, however, remains one of the most popular colours.