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January arrives grey, cold and slightly unhinged - a month where half the country is feeling blue and the other half is wondering if they’re meant to become superheroes overnight. So at CHILL, we decided to run a small experiment. No lab coats. No charts. Just a team challenge:
Wear colour — real, bold, bright colour — every day for a week.

Out went our cosy neutrals. In came warm colours, cool colors, neon hues, and the kind of colour palette normally reserved for children’s TV presenters. It was chaos. It was fun. And, unexpectedly, it changed how we felt.

Energy lifted. Confidence grew. People chatted more. There was some panic about colour combinations (“Does orange ever go with brown?”), but overall the mood shifted upward. Even on dark winter days when seasonal affective disorder makes everything feel heavier, something about wearing strong colour cut through the fog.

So the question became:
Was this dopamine dressing actually… working?
And if so - how?

Before we go deeper, a quick note on dopamine: what is it?
It’s a neurotransmitter linked to motivation, focus and reward - the spark behind wanting to do something, not just the pleasure of doing it. But dopamine doesn’t work in isolation. Your brain, mood and nervous system respond to lots of signals - including colour.

Let’s explore what actually happened to us, what research suggests about colour psychology, and why bright outfits alone won’t regulate your nervous system… but might still make your day feel better.

Why Dopamine Dressing Has Gone Viral This Year

Dopamine dressing didn’t appear out of nowhere. It exploded because the cultural mood was ripe for it.

People are tired. Stressed. Running on a nervous system that’s been pushed too hard for too long. On winter days with limited natural sunlight, low circadian rhythm cues and increased darkness, it’s no surprise people reach for visual stimulation.

Colour feels like an alternative treatment - a micro-hack on a bleak morning.
It’s simple: more yellow, less grey.

Social media also loves a visual trend. Bright outfits look good on camera. They stand out in a sea of beige. And in a cultural moment where mental health advice often gets flattened into oversimplified slogans, “wear something fun” feels like a relief.

But under the trend sits something real: Colour plays directly into how the brain interprets emotional signals.

What Colour Actually Does to Your Brain

Here’s the honest breakdown - backed by psychology, not TikTok.

1. Colour hijacks attention - gently

Bright colours demand focus.
The brain can’t ignore strong colour, contrast or bold hues.
That bump in attention can feel like energy - especially when your baseline mood is flat.

2. Colour interacts with emotional processing

Research suggests that different colours can activate different emotional pathways.

• Warm colours like yellow, orange and red can feel energising.
• Cool colours like blue and green can feel calming or steadying.
• Purple often lands somewhere between creativity and depth.

This doesn’t mean everyone reacts the same way - cultural differences and situational factors shape colour associations too.

3. Colour creates social feedback loops

This was obvious during our challenge.
When you wear bright shades, people respond. Compliments, conversation, curiosity.
Increased social interaction → mood lift → more motivation → more dopamine.

4. Colour connects us to the natural world

Many mood-boosting colours mirror nature: green fields, blue skies, sunlight yellow.
Spending time in nature is linked to calmer nervous system activity, lower blood pressure and better psychological functioning.
Colour can act as a tiny reminder of the natural world - even indoors.

Our Team Challenge: What Happened When We Wore Colour for a Week

The results surprised us.

More energy

Not manic energy - just a slight rise in alertness. Even on dark days, strong colour felt like its own kind of light box. Like a boost of serotonin.

More confidence

Something about being more visible - deliberately - sparked a subtle shift. Not in the same way for each person, but enough to notice.

Better cognitive performance

Meetings felt lighter. People contributed more. Not because colour changes your IQ, but because novelty stimulates attention pathways.

Less emotional heaviness

Even the people who came in feeling blue said the colour helped them break the loop.

Some outfit stress

Yes, choosing between 12 shades of blue became a thing. But nothing our nervous systems couldn’t handle.

But Here’s the Important Bit: Colour Doesn’t Regulate You

Dopamine dressing can shift mood, but it won’t reset a dysregulated nervous system. If you’re dealing with prolonged stress, burnout, or sad symptoms linked to seasonal affective disorder:

• colour won’t fix your cortisol
• your circadian rhythm still needs natural sunlight
• your emotions still need space to settle
• your psychological functioning still depends on rest, not outfits

Colour is a spark, not the fire.

So if you want something that actually stabilises you? Bring in sensory rituals that work deeper than the colour spectrum.

The Sensory Rituals that Actually Support Mood and Mental Health

Colour is one tool. These are the tools that go further:

1. Light (the real kind)

Natural sunlight is still the biggest mood regulator we have.
If sunlight is limited, a light box can support circadian rhythm cues better than any outfit.

2. Texture that grounds the body

Soft knits, warm fabrics, smooth surfaces - your touch system is a direct line to calm.

3. Scent that cues safety

Lavender, vanilla, woods - proven sensory shortcuts to emotional steadiness.

4. Small habits that reset your system

• stepping outside
• one minute of deep breathing
• gentle movement
• drinking something warm
• spending time in quiet

These regulate your body in a way dopamine dressing simply can’t.

Absolutely - but with the right expectations.

Try it because:

• it interrupts monotony
• it boosts attention and emotional engagement
• it makes daily life feel more playful
• it creates social warmth
• it reconnects you to the natural world of colour you’ve probably ignored all winter

But don’t expect it to fix everything.
Colour shifts mood.
Regulation shifts wellbeing.

Use both.

Final Thoughts

You don’t need perfect routines or perfect outfits. Just tools that help your body feel a little safer, a little brighter, a little more grounded. There's no need to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe, but getting creative with what you have could give you a little boost. But, if wearing black sparks joy - stay in your edgy lane and thrive!

If colour gives you joy? Wear it.
If warm colours brighten a dark day? Embrace them.
If cool colours calm you down? Lean in.

Stress less. Live more — one shade at a time.