You might think that colour and smell can’t possibly help you when you are trying to learn, but you’d be wrong. In fact, there’s good scientific evidence to suggest that both colour and smell can aid the learning process in a number of ways. And utilising them both to help you learn needn’t be expensive either. So, this week we’ll focus on colour, finishing off with smell next week.
Colour
Colour can have a very powerful effect on the mind. Evidence shows it directly influences ‘the health, morale, emotions, behaviour and performance of learners’*and that colour ‘can be used to create an enriched learning environment.’* It can effectively reduce stress but, that’s not all, it can also improve your focus and attention span, increasing productivity and accuracy. The brain is stimulated and rewired by visual input, including colour, which creates stronger connections. This helps to develop your problem solving and creative abilities – just perfect for a learning or work environment. I bet you didn’t think that colour could be that effective did you!
Old Theory, New Science
And don’t think that this is just some new fangled idea – it’s not. The roots of chromotherapy (the technical name for using colour to affect the body and mind) was originally developed by the ancients cultures of Greece, China, India and Egypt and is gaining popularity again as its effectiveness is being proven by modern science. Even NASA have become interested in the properties of colour – testing their ability to affect plant-growth and wound healing!
Which colours to use?
So, now we know that colour can reduce stress and improve your learning ability, which colours should you choose? Well, if you want to keep calm and maximise your learning potential while you’re studying you should choose earthy colours, such as green, blue and brown. In your office the best colours to remain focussed and calm are turquoise, brown, magenta and green. And when you are learning another language, like many of our Business Training College students, yellow is the colour you should choose.
How to apply the colour
Ideally, the best way to use colour would be to decorate the area that you use for study or work in the appropriate colour, but this is not always possible. So, as a cheap alternative just get yourself a large sheet of paper in the colour you need and fix it to a wall near you. Or, if that’s not possible, just keep it by you. Make sure you look at it often, just for a few minutes at a time and you’ll still get the benefit.
Next week it’s the turn of smell and, believe me, it’s just as interesting as colour!
