Jiang and teammates studied humans’ responses to multicolor light in the context of space travel, but their findings are likely to be relevant in other situations. The group shares that “The goal of this study . . . was to test whether multicolour lighting can improve people’s psychological state in an isolated and confined environment over a period of seven days. . . . [participants] were randomly divided into two groups: one group that was exposed to multicolour lighting and a control group, which was exposed to a static, monotonous white interior. . . . The results of the control group showed that the participants’ negative emotions and anxiety continued to increase over time, whereas the group randomly exposed to multicolour lighting that changed every three hours did not show any significant increase in negative emotions and anxiety. Moreover, the random change of light colour . . . appeared to help the participants increase their sense of surprise, thereby counteracting monotony.” The multicolor light studied was produced by Philips Hue Bluetooth wireless 16 million color dynamic light bulbs.
Ao Jiang, Irene Schlacht, Xiang Yao, Bernard Foing, Zhixiong Fang, Stephen Westland, Caroline Hemingray, and Wenhao Yao. 2022. “Space Habitat Astronautics: Multicolour Lighting Psychology in a 7-Day Simulated Habitat.” Space: Science and Technology, vol. 2022, no. 9782706, https://doi.org/10.34133/2022/9782706