Some believe colors can affect mood.
Chromatherapy or color lighting is used in what some consider to be a pseudo-scientific procedure to balance a person's physical, spiritual, mental and emotional energy. Some believe it has medical benefits and can be used in treatment, whereas others opt to use it in home interiors to influence mood.
Identification
This type of therapy is not related to light therapy, which is used to treat seasonal affective disorder as well as some other conditions. However, in a report on chromatherapy done in 2005 by Samina T. Yousuf Azeemi and S. Mohsin Raza, Department of Physics, University of Balochistan, Quetta, Pakistan, it was noted that chromatherapy as a treatment can benefit individuals because of its harmony with nature, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Origin
Avicenna, a Persian philosopher and doctor (980-1037), discussed using color as a diagnostic and treatment tool in The Canon of Medicine, which was completed in 1025. He believed color is an observable symptom of disease, and he created a chart of colors that related to the physical condition and temperature of the body. For example, Avicenna believed blue would reduce blood flow while red would cause more blood to flow, and yellow reduced inflammation and pain.
Interior Design
Some interior designers incorporate the concept of chromatherapy lighting into their designs, adhering to the ayurvedic, holistic and feng shui theories that colored light is emitted in every cell in our body. This color purportedly vibrates within and without the body. Therefore, if you surround yourself with certain colors, the body's natural frequencies that are critical to our physical, mental and emotional health are balanced, according to Fromhousetohome.com.
Types
Chromatherapy lights are available in lamps and color therapy balls and can be installed in home spas. There are mood lights and accent lights, as well as underwater lights. Kohler's offers an eight-color system that transmits colors in a sequence that reportedly produces a relaxing effect.
Scientific Name
Photobiology is now the term used medically instead of chromatherapy. Photobiology is the study of effects of light on humans.
Tags: blood flow, mental emotional, Some believe