The chromotherapy is, as its name suggests, the use of color or colors, either by light or other forms of exposure to supposedly make treatment of various health problems.

Depending on how you approach it, it is a field between science and pseudoscience, between medicine, and what is not. Let’s take a short look at some of the applications and the usefulness of chromotherapy.

Use of light and color for well-being

The light influences our body. It does so in the waking / sleeping rhythm, in nocturnal rest and also affects health, because we know that we need adequate exposure to sunlight to not suffer certain alterations and diseases.

Similarly, color is important in well-being. There are colors that “activate” us, others that “relax” us. Each person has favorite colors. The colors of a room transmit feelings and can affect our mood. Therefore, we can say that in popular culture, chromotherapy, whether with lights or through the use of colors, has some influence on our health.

In some cases there is a component, so to speak, physical or organic explaining the benefits. It is clear in the case of sunlight, it is necessary for the synthesis of vitamin D. We also know that the use of bright lights close to the blue spectrum (such as computer screens and smartphones) can lead to problems such as insomnia, while orange or reddish light does not interfere so much with the ability to fall asleep.

And there are some studies that show that certain uses of color therapy, in specific cases, can be useful. For example, in some cases of mental health problems such as mania or depression.

Chromotherapy: Where is the boundary between the scientific and what is not?

The problem is the basis. That is to say, we know that the use of certain colors can favor a mental relaxation (as it also relaxes, for example, the music, or a pleasant environment).

We have also commented that there are certain biological effects of elements such as sunlight, red or orange light, blue light or bluish white … But the foundation is that, biological.

The basis of chromotherapy explains that colors, in and of themselves, have therapeutic effects. They influence the organs, they act on the energy of the body (chakras), and there are colors that can stimulate or relax, but also promote intelligence, strengthen the defenses, act regulating diseases like hypertension or diabetes … There is no evidence or , If any, are weak, and are likely to be found in studies not too methodologically adequate.

We recently talked about kinesiotaping, and we made reference to the fact that different colors do not have any function on the organism (more, not even the manufacturers usually give this type of unconfirmed information), but there are professionals and users who think that every color has A therapeutic effect and different indications (we repeat, this is not so).

Therefore, and as a conclusion, we will point out that both light and color have effects on the organism, because they affect us, in a certain way, on the physical and mental level: that is undeniable.

What can not be done is to attribute mystical qualities to the use of color, nor to pretend that it acts on the organism to levels that are not demonstrated and that probably are due, once again, to superstitions, beliefs and placebo effect.

And you, what do you think about chromotherapy?