The impact of spring colors on mental health

SALT LAKE CITY – We often think of spring as a fresh and lively season. Part of the reason why is because the colors associated with it can impact our mood in a positive way.

In the latest Let’s Get Moving with Maria podcast episode, Maria Shilaos spoke with Practicing Environmental Psychologist Dr. Sally Augustin to learn the basics of color psychology as well as how we can incorporate spring colors into our lives to improve our mental health.

Spring colors have three key features that play a role in improving our mental health: saturation, intensity and lightness. These colors are usually less saturated and less light, which make us feel more relaxed when we look at them. On the flip side, the more intense, dark, and saturated colors can make us feel revved up.

“We do have some very specific responses to certain colors that we might see during the spring or any other time of the year,” Dr. Augustin said.

The color red gives us a burst of strength, but it also degrades our analytical performance. Therefore, it’s probably not the best idea to have too much red around your workspace. Green, however, enhances our creativity, so it’s a great color to have even just outside your office window.

Dr. Augustin says that a lot of factors go into the colors that we choose. One in particular that comes into play is how extroverted or introverted we are.

“People who are extroverted tend to gravitate towards more saturated shades, and people who are more introverted tend to get a charge out of colors that aren’t so saturated,” she said.

Her first and biggest tip to using spring colors to boost your mental health is to choose colors that align with how you want to use your space.

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Read more stories about mental health from KSL NewsRadio.