Cognitive and Affective Responses to Varied Coloured Light Environments

Lighting is an important aspect of an individual’s surroundings and has an effect not only on one’s vision, aesthetic appearances but also on one’s emotion and cognition. This paper depicts how varied coloured lighting environments have a significant impact on the human emotional state. The study involved exposing participants to three distinct lighting conditions: Warm Colours (like red and yellow), cool colours (like blue and green), and neutral white light in a controlled interior environment. Participants were asked to rate their emotional state using mood scales before and after exposure to each lighting condition. The heart rate of the participants was also taken into consideration for the varied lighting conditions. The data was analysed to determine significant differences in mood scores across the different coloured light conditions. The paper also introduces the development of a smart phone application wherein users could adjust the lighting colour, temperature, intensity and brightness according to their moods. This allows for a more user centric design and personalised spaces leading to improved productivity and relaxation.