The Effect of Light Color on Muscular Strength and Power

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of the color of light in a room on muscular strength and power. A convenience sample of 18 men (M age = 20.4 yr., SD = 1.2) performed a modified Wingate Anaerobic Cycle Test for muscular power and a hand grip strength test in each of the following conditions: red, blue, and white (neutral) ambient light. A repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance indicated that average muscular power was significantly higher when performing the test in the room with red light compared to rooms lit with blue light or white light. The results also indicated that grip strength was significantly higher in the room lit with white light as compared to the room lit with blue light.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ainsworth

R. A.

Cassell

Simpson

(1993) Effects of three colors in an office interior on mood and performance. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 76, 235–241.

Azeemi

S. T.

Raza

S. M.

(2005) A critical analysis of chromotherapy and its scientific evolution. Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2, 481–488.

Dunwoody

(1998) Color or brightness effects on grip strength. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 87, 275–278.

Etnier

J. L.

Hardy

C. J.

(1997) The effects of environmental color. Journal of Sport Behavior, 20, 299–313.

Green

W. K.

Hasson

S. M.

Mohammed

S. K.

Phillips

C. L.

Richards

P. E.

Smith

M. E.

White

(1982) Effect of viewing selected colors on the performance of gross and fine motor tasks. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 54, 778.

Hamid

P. N.

Newport

A. G.

(1989) Effect of color on physical strength and mood in children. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 69, 179–185.

Keller

L. M.

Vautin

R. G.

(1998) Effect of viewed color on hand-grip strength. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 87, 763–768.

Kobayashi

Sato

(1992) Physiological responses to illuminance and color temperature of lighting. Annals of Physiology and Anthropology, 11, 45–49.

Kwallek

Lewis

C. M.

(1990) Effects of environmental colour on males and females: a red or white or green office. Applied Ergonomics, 21, 275–278.

10.

Profusek

P. J.

Rainey

D. W.

(1987) Effects of Baker-Miller pink and red on state anxiety, grip strength, and motor precision. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 65, 941–942.

11.

Smith

J. M.

Bell

P. A.

Fusco

M. E.

(1986) The influence of color and demand characteristics on muscle strength and affective ratings of the environment. The Journal of General Psychology, 113, 289–297.