Design Your Energy: How Color and Hues Influence Your Health and Mood

Color is more than decoration. The colors in your environment guide your body’s rhythms, emotions, and even your capacity for restoration. From ancient healing systems to modern neuroscience, research continues to confirm what intuition has always known: color affects how we feel, think, and function.

The Science Behind Color Psychology

Color psychology studies how light wavelengths (colors) can affect emotions, physiology, and behavior. While it's still an evolving field, research has found meaningful correlations between color exposure and alertness, mood, and even physical responses like circulation and blood pressure. (PMC) In healthcare design, for example, deliberate color choices have improved patient comfort, reduced anxiety, and increased satisfaction. (Psychiatry Advisor)

Because we are constantly bathed in color - from our walls, clothing, screens, and natural environment - our nervous systems register them continuously. Over time, the colors we surround ourselves with can subtly shift how we feel, behave, and heal.

The Main Hues and What They Evoke

Here’s how the major colors tend to show up in psychology and wellness, along with how they might play out in your daily life, mood, and energy:

Blue - Calm, Clarity, Trust

Blue light has been shown to increase alertness and focus in tasks, yet in deeper tones, it tends to slow heart rate and induce calm. In your daily environment, blue can make you feel more centered, help with stress, and support communication - especially when soothing the mind after intense work.

Green - Balance, Renewal, Healing

Green is strongly associated with nature, health, and harmony. It’s often used in wellness branding for its fresh, renewing vibe. In your lifestyle, green accents or exposure to nature (even visuals) can reduce cognitive fatigue, support emotional balance, and help you feel more grounded in your body.

Red - Energy, Attention, Urgency

Red stimulates attention. In studies, red has been shown to influence food behavior (where red plates lead to less food consumption) and to demand more cognitive caution in achievement tasks. (PMC) As a color in your environment, red can boost energy or invigorate, but too much or used in stressful settings may increase tension or restlessness.

Yellow / Gold - Optimism, Warmth, Creativity

Yellow evokes positivity, mental uplift, and creativity. It’s like sunlight for the psyche. However, when overused or in harsh tones, it can become agitating. (ResearchGate) In your daily world, a touch of yellow or gold in accents or lighting can brighten mood, stimulate ideas, and reveal a sense of lightness.

Purple / Violet - Depth, Intuition, Wisdom

Purple straddles the emotional/spiritual space. It’s often tied to introspection, imagination, and depth. In wellness and design, violet can invite a sense of mystery, surrender, and soulful connection. Commonly used in holistic spaces.

Neutrals & Whites - Space, Reset, Clarity

White or very light tones feel like “starting fresh.” In medical settings, white and soft neutrals historically aimed to evoke cleanliness and purity (a reason many hospitals used it). In wellness use, neutrals act as breathing space in your environment, giving your nervous system room to rest.

How Color Influences Daily Life, Behavior & Energy

• Mood & Emotion: Colors send quick signals to your brain. Blue hues calm, reds energize, greens soothe. These signals can prime your emotional tone for the day.
• Habits & Routine Triggers: A warming golden light in the morning can cue wakefulness. Soft greens or blues in the evening can cue rest.
• Personality & Expression: The colors you favor often reflect your inner state or what your system is craving (ex: someone leaning into purple may be seeking more depth or reflection).
• Energy Flow: Because colors subtly impact circulation, nerves, and focus, they can either support or hinder your capacity to move, think, or heal.
• Healing & Recovery: In clinic and spa settings, softer tones are often chosen to reduce overstimulation while still providing support to nervous systems and creating safer emotional walls. 

How to Work With Color in Your Wellness Rituals

1. Start small: Choose one accent color for your space (pillows, candles, wall art) and notice how your body responds across days.
2. Light layering: Use colored light filters or smart bulbs that shift hues depending on time of day (cooler in morning, warmer at night).
3. Wear what you need: If your system feels heavy or stuck, lean into greens or blues. Need energy? Bring in a bit of red or gold as an accent (not overpowering).
4. Reflect & adjust: Note which color tones help you feel ease vs which feel tense. Your system is the best gauge.
5. Integrate into your rituals: Use soft blue or green sheets, throw in a yellow throw, choose purple writing tools - subtle incorporations build skin-deep habits. 

Designing a Wellness-Driven Environment

Whether through home design, wardrobe, or workspace curation, color and light influence your well-being in subtle but powerful ways. By choosing hues that align with your goals, such as soft blues for calm focus, warm neutrals for grounding, and greens for restoration, you create a self-regulating environment that supports health and harmony from the inside out.

Written by Dr. Summer Sanders, PT, DPT – Integrative Wellness Coach
Integrative Wellness by SLS

Follow Summer on socials to see upcoming posts about more wellness + home related tips!

Connect with Summer 

Email: [email protected]

IG: @summersanders_official

TikTok: @summersanders_official

FB: @IntegrativeWellnessbySLS