Out of the Blue? How the Color of Light Could Be Used to Treat Mental Illness

You Should Know: The color of light around you affects how you feel. Blue wavelengths (the kind screens and standard overhead LEDs release) signal alertness to your brain — and after dark, can suppress melatonin and throw your sleep off, your hormones and mood following suit. Warmer tones, like ambers and oranges, have the opposite effect. Research from UC Davis found that amber light produced the fastest and greatest stress reduction compared to other colors, possibly because our brains associate it with sunsets and campfires.

Going Deeper: A psychiatric unit in Trondheim, Norway built an environment to put this to the test for their patients. In the ward, filters dropped over windows and lights shifted to amber as evening hit, eliminating blue wavelengths. In the randomized trial of 476 patients, those in the blue-depleted environment showed more clinical improvement and less aggressive behavior than those under standard lighting.

Takeaway: You don’t need to make drastic leaps to test this. Switching to warmer bulbs, using night mode on your phone, or just dimming lights can help shift the mood of your space.

Bottom Line: The color of the light around you can help regulate your mood more than you might think.