It seems like we are surrounded by stress inducing content, news, relationships, and other personal matters at a level of never before seen. Sometimes it seems that we just can't get away from it but we can make little changes in the environment where we spend a lot of our time: our home space.
Color psychology suggests that the colors we surround ourselves with can significantly impact our mood, emotions, and overall well-being. Among the spectrum of hues, blue stands out for its unique ability to evoke tranquility and calmness—a quality that can be particularly beneficial in home design. It's one of the reasons I chose blue for the base color of this blog.
The Science Behind Blue
From the azure sky to the deep ocean, blue is a color deeply ingrained in our natural world. It often symbolizes serenity, stability, and depth. Scientifically, blue light has been shown to allow us to relax faster than white light (Blue lighting is scientifically proven to help us relax faster than white lighting after an argument, Science Daily Nov 2017).This is not to be confused with the blue light of our screens that do the opposite.
Blue has long been studied for its calming effects but one of the most surprising finds is in its possible role in suicide prevention. Psychology Today reported on the study of Japanese railways that installed blue lighting that resulted in a 84% decrease in suicides.