LOS ANGELES (KNX) – If you've worn brighter or more vibrant colors, did you feel that extra prep in your step? Was your smile bigger? Was your confidence radiating?
If you answered "yes", chances are you were "dopamine dressing."
"Dopamine is a neurotransmitter," Leigh Richardson, brain health coach and and founder of the Brain Performance Center, told In Depth, "… and anytime that you do something and you- 'I like doing this. I like wearing this hot pink jacket!' That makes more dopamine come and then it keeps coming and coming."
Richardson said it has to do with our brain association with certain colors. "Our brain associates color with temperature and anytime we wear something bright red, that increases your pituitary and your glands, that increases your metabolism."
She added that fashion designers play a huge role when it comes to "dopamine dressing", as does social media.
"You know, fashion designers...they're into the social media, they're into the Pinterest," she explained. "Pinterest predicted eight out of 10 of the 20221 trends, so certainly they're looking at that and you know, they're looking at the bright colors they see on social and probably it's exciting."
When it comes the end of the pandemic, Richardson said she thinks people are going to want to express themselves with clothing.
"I think people are wanting to express themselves, people are wanting to be free, people are wanting to be creative and certainly dress and color is one way that you can do it."
Listen to the full interview in the audio above.
