{"id":27534,"date":"2023-05-29T19:00:33","date_gmt":"2023-05-29T17:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/?p=143217"},"modified":"2023-05-29T19:37:11","modified_gmt":"2023-05-29T17:37:11","slug":"dopamine-dressing-how-the-colour-of-your-clothes-could-change-your-brain","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/dopamine-dressing-how-the-colour-of-your-clothes-could-change-your-brain\/","title":{"rendered":"Dopamine dressing: How the colour of your clothes could change your brain"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"rssexcerpt\"> Dopamine dressing may one of the hottest TikTok trends, but is there any science to it? <\/p><p class=\"rssauthor\">By Amy Arthur\n                \t\t<\/p><p class=\"rssbyline\">Published: Monday, 29 May 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p><hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/><?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\" standalone=\"yes\"?>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body> <p>Dubbed \u2018part fashion, part mindfulness\u2019, dopamine dressing is the TikTok trend that encourages people to choose clothing that matches their desired mood. So, if we opt for colourful clothing over the drab and dreary, we\u2019ll get a boost of dopamine and feel happier.<\/p>\n<p>Dopamine, as a neurotransmitter, is involved in several brain functions including the forming of emotions. It\u2019s not the only molecule that can affect how we feel \u2013 serotonin, oxytocin and various endorphins interact with dopamine to give rise to our mood. But dopamine does play a fundamental part in our brain\u2019s reward system.<\/p>\n<p>As to whether our outfit choice can offer a dopamine boost, to put it plainly, we don\u2019t know \u2013 there is no study that has asked participants to change into brightly coloured clothes while monitoring the dopamine levels in their brain. But as far as the concept goes, there are studies that show a relationship between the clothes we wear and how we act and feel.<\/p>\n<p>In one study, people photographed <a href=\"\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/147470491000800304&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">wearing a red or black T-shirt<\/a> were viewed as being more attractive than those wearing any other colour. Wearing red can also lead to better physical performance. A review of football matches over the last 55 years showed that <a href=\"\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1080\/02640410701736244&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">teams with a red kit consistently played better in home games<\/a> than any other kit colour.<\/p>\n<p>One study showed that wearing an outfit that has an association with a profession, like a doctor\u2019s white coat, <a href=\"\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0022103112000200&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">improves cognitive processes<\/a>. Termed \u2018enclothed cognition\u2019, this might also be why wearing gym clothes makes us more likely to exercise. While formal suits make a person act with more dominance, when it comes to performance, <a href=\"&quot;https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1177\/1077727X04274115&quot;\">comfort is arguably more important<\/a> \u2013 students taking exams fared better when they were wearing comfier, less formal clothes.<\/p>\n<p>Those who spend their days pursuing creative endeavours might want to try wearing green, as <a href=\"&quot;https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/0146167212436611&quot;\">viewing the colour<\/a> has been linked to better creative performance. The colour green has also been found to evoke feelings of relaxation, likely because it reminds us of nature. Yellow, and its suggestions of summer and warmth, can bring a viewer happiness, energy and excitement, though it\u2019s not known if these feelings occur when wearing the colour.<\/p>\n<p>There are some problems with studying associations between colour and emotions, namely that our opinions are closely linked with our culture. In the UK, we may associate the colour black with sadness because it\u2019s what we wear to a funeral, but mourners wear white at funerals in China. We also <a href=\"&quot;https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/the-human-body\/do-we-all-see-the-same-colours\/&quot;\">can\u2019t say for certain that everyone sees colour the same<\/a>, as anyone who saw \u2018the dress\u2019 on social media in 2015 can attest.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul><li><a href=\"&quot;https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/science\/why-do-we-have-favourite-colours\/&quot;\">Why do we have favourite colours?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"&quot;https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/the-human-body\/do-we-all-see-the-same-colours\/&quot;\">Do we all see the same colours?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"&quot;https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/science\/do-white-clothes-really-keep-you-cool-in-summer\/&quot;\">Do white clothes really keep you cool in summer?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"&quot;https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/science\/why-do-clothes-get-darker-when-wet\/&quot;\">Why do clothes get darker when wet?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>To submit your questions email us at questions@sciencefocus.com (don\u2019t forget to include your name and location)<\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> Dopamine dressing may one of the hottest TikTok trends, but is there any science to it? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":27535,"template":"","categories":[30],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/dopamine-dressing-how-the-colour-of-your-clothes-could-change-your-brain.png",1200,511,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/dopamine-dressing-how-the-colour-of-your-clothes-could-change-your-brain-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/dopamine-dressing-how-the-colour-of-your-clothes-could-change-your-brain-300x128.png",300,128,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/dopamine-dressing-how-the-colour-of-your-clothes-could-change-your-brain-768x327.png",768,327,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/dopamine-dressing-how-the-colour-of-your-clothes-could-change-your-brain-1024x436.png",800,341,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/dopamine-dressing-how-the-colour-of-your-clothes-could-change-your-brain.png",1200,511,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/dopamine-dressing-how-the-colour-of-your-clothes-could-change-your-brain.png",1200,511,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Dopamine dressing may one of the hottest TikTok trends, but is there any science to it?","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/27534"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}