This Color Can Make You Feel Happier

If there was a color for happiness, what do you think it would be?

You might immediately respond with “yellow,” as it’s often been labeled as such. If you google “happy face,” your feed will likely be flooded with yellow smiling graphics.  

Well, it turns out there’s also science to back the idea that yellow encourages happiness.

However, one study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology found that the emotional response to the color depends on a variety of factors, including physical environment and proximity to the equator.

For example, according to the study authors, “participants who live further away from the equator and in rainier countries are more likely to associate yellow with joy.”

Add More of This Color to Your Home to Feel Happier

“The likelihood of yellow-joy associations varied across our 55 countries, ranging from just 5.7 percent in Egypt to 87.7 percent in Finland,” they added. “Our findings support a role for the physical environment in shaping the affective meaning of color.”

That being said, countries that can’t find fulfillment through sunshine and warm weather might be able to cultivate that sense of happiness by integrating the color yellow into their lives. 

“When you perceive color, it sends signals to the hypothalamus, which can impact your mood, triggering the release of certain hormones,” Dr. Tania Elliott, an internist and health influencer, told The Post. “Certain colors have even been associated with physiological changes like increases in blood pressure and metabolism.”

“Yellow and orange have been linked to happiness,” she added. 

You can surround yourself with yellow in a variety of ways, such as by decorating your home with yellow decor or wearing yellow clothing. These simple tactics can help spark contentment without you even realizing it. Just as a gray, gloomy day might make you feel down in the dumps, a bright, yellow environment can turn your bad mood around.