Memory for the color of an object was higher for red-colored objects compared to blue and green-colored objects, whereas no significant difference in color memory between red and yellow-colored objects was observed.
Studies have shown that colours such as orange, red and yellow are more attention-grabbing compared with colours such as grey or brown. This means that information written or highlighted in these colours have a higher chance of being remembered.
Stimuli with white foreground on red background can have a higher level of contrast compared to the other colour combination. Similarly, the use of a white colour background with black colour foreground has a better contrast level for memory retention for both short-term and long-term (32).
1) Green: Concentration
You probably know this already, just by taking a look at a forest or a field. Low wavelength colors promote restfulness and calm, and they improve efficiency and focus. So that's why green is an excellent color for improving concentration.
Maybe it's time to consider the color of your walls, or your screen saver. If a new study is any guide, the color red can make people's work more accurate, but blue can make them more creative.
A high color temperature is connected to optimal studying performance and focus. Cool white light is the best LED light color for studying.
Green – Quiet and restful, green is a soothing color that can invite harmony and diffuse anxiety. Blue – A highly peaceful color, blue can be especially helpful for stress management because it can encourage a powerful sense of calm.
Happy colors are usually thought to be bright, warm shades, like yellow, orange, pink and red, or pastels, like peach, light pink and lilac. The brighter and lighter the color, the happier and more optimistic it can make you feel.
Warm colors like red, yellow and orange evoke higher arousal emotions, such as love, passion, happiness, and anger. Cool colors, like blue, green and purple are linked to calmness, sadness and indifference. Colors can trigger these arousal states and emotions.
Memory color effect can be derived from the human instinct to memorize objects better. Comparing the effect of recognizing gray-scaled images and colored images, results showed that people were able to recall colored images 5% higher compared to gray-scaled images.
Purple flowers are for those who have lost a loved one to dementia, memorializing their loss. The color purple has long been associated with Alzheimer's and other types of dementia.
Research studies discovered red to be the best color light to help you sleep, because it increases production of melatonin as well as full darkness. On the other end of the spectrum, blue is the worst. Despite being a calm-inducing color on most occasions, blue is not suitable for lighting a bedroom.
Red groups did better on tests of recall and attention to detail, like remembering words or checking spelling and punctuation. Blue groups did better on tests requiring imagination, like inventing creative uses for a brick or creating toys from shapes.
Recent psychological studies suggest that reading and writing text in color increases the likelihood that you will remember the information. For example, one experiment found that a group of students had greater recall with blue text than with black by 27%.
Blue: Blue is the color of trust, confidence, and intelligence. Blue encourages intellectual activity, reasoning and logical thinking, and acquires lessons faster. That is the color of intellect. It has the power to help people adapt to new environments.
Blue: Intellectual
It's no wonder then that blue is a popular color to use in office spaces. It enhances wakefulness and supports clear communication. Blue is a great choice if you want to get straight to the point.
When it comes to depression colors, gray and blue tend to be high on the list of those associated with low mood. In a 2010 study using the Manchester Color Wheel, experts found gray was the color people pointed to when asked to reflect feelings of depression.
Avoiding colors that can induce anxiety is a good start. Stay away from bright, bold, and intense colors. Colors like red and orange increase anxiety and stress, sometimes even fear. Red and orange are associated with an emergency that can elicit images of emergency vehicles with their lights and sirens on.
"Shades of blue or green are always very calming. Blues are especially known to have a relaxing effect perfect for creating a serene feeling at home," says Nicole Gibbons, interior designer and founder of Clare Paint.
Yellow was most often associated with a normal mood and grey with an anxious or depressed mood. Different shades of the same color had completely different positive or negative connotations.
Warm white or soft white lights in the 2700K-3000K range can help you relax and get a good night's sleep, while cool white lights in the 5000K-6500K range can boost your productivity and focus.
If you are reading from a printed book then amber or red light bulbs that are formulated to block blue light will suffice. But if you are reading from an LED light-emitting device such as a computer, laptop, tablet, kindle, or smartphone then it's important to wear blue-light-blocking glasses too.
Harvard Medical School researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center have found that exposing migraine sufferers to a narrow band of green light significantly reduces photophobia and can reduce headache severity.
Grey: Calming Study Spaces
If creating a calm, ordered space is your main aim, consider using grey tones. Easily integrated into the modern and traditional home, grey is a colour that expands the feeling of space and can be used tonally to create interest in a featureless room.