- Scientists discover that colors fade as we age, especially green and magenta
- The UCL study tested 17 young adults and 20 older adults and compared the results
Whether it’s Prue Leith, Helen Mirren or Mary Berry, older women often look fantastic in their favorite bright colours.
Now researchers have discovered that the reason some people prefer bright shades is because our perception of color changes as we age.
By comparing how the eyes of younger and older people respond to different hues, scientists discovered that colors effectively fade as we age.
The University College London team recruited 17 young adults with an average age of 28 years and 20 older adults with an average age of 64 years. The participants were placed in a darkened room and were each shown 26 different colors for five seconds while the researchers measured the diameter of their pupils.
These parts of the eye constrict in response to the increase in lightness and intensity of color.
Researchers at UCL have managed to find out why we gravitate towards brighter colors as we age, as Prue Leith appears to have done
Scientists found that colors effectively fade as we age, which may lead some to opt for even brighter colors
Mary Berry wore a series of brightly colored coats on The Great British Bake Off and wore brightly colored dresses during recent engagements
The colors shown to participants included dark, muted, saturated and light shades of magenta, blue, green, yellow and red, in addition to two shades of orange and four shades of grey.
Using an eye-tracking camera that recorded pupil diameter 1,000 times per second, the team found that the pupils of healthy elderly people constricted less in response to color intensity compared to young adults.
The findings, published in the journal Scientific Reports, showed this was particularly evident in green and magenta.
Mrs Berry, 88, wore a series of brightly colored coats on The Great British Bake Off, wore a bright pink dress to meet the Prince and Princess of Wales, and also posed in a striking red skirt.
Ms Leith, 83, seems to have worn almost every bright and bold color under the sun, while Ms Mirren usually opts for a bold outfit for red carpet appearances. The 78-year-old even once dyed her hair blue to match her dress.
The study is the first to use pupillometry to show that as we age, our brains become less sensitive to the intensity of colors in the world around us.
The findings also complement previous behavioral research showing that older adults perceive colors as less colorful than young adults.
Dr. Janneke van Leeuwen, the study’s lead author, said the work suggests that “colors slowly fade as we age.” She added: ‘Our findings may also help explain why our color preferences may change as we age – and why at least some older people prefer to dress in bright colours.’