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Because colour has such a profound impact on how our brain perceives our environment, it’s used by cultures all over the world to relay important information, send signals and even help improve mood and memory.How can colour help our brains remember information? When the brain is stimulated by colour, it increases the chances of the stimuli being transferred to memory. In fact, colour scenes help our brains organise, compare and recall information more efficiently than colourless (black and white) scenes.
Do certain colours improve memory? In one study, students in British Columbia scored higher on memory tasks when completing them on a red background. But it depends on where you live, researchers say. In North America, for example, red is aligned with danger or stopping, which increases the natural response to red.
Activity
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Put the power of colour and memory to the test: Get a set of plain white index cards and coloured Post-it® Super Sticky Notes. Ask a friend to write down historical dates on one side of the card and Post-it® Super Sticky Note, and events that correspond to that date on the other. Read through each three times. The next day, try to recall what you read. How did you organise the information? Were you better able to recall the information on the coloured Post-it® Super Sticky Notes?
How do you use colour to stay focused and improve memory?
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