RAINBOW REMEDIES

HOW colour can affect us. This week: Red boosts memory IF YOU have a problem to solve, use a red pen or change your computer background to red and it will improve your attention to detail, research from Canada suggests.

The 2009 study from the University of British Columbia found that people checking words on a red screen were 23 per cent more accurate than those using a blue one — they also remembered 29 per cent more in a memory test. ‘Thanks to stop signs, emergency vehicles and teachers’ red pens, we associate red with danger, mistakes and caution — this makes us more vigilant,’ said the study’s author Juliet Zhu. Red may also make you a winner in team sports. A significant number of studies have found that a team or individual wearing red is more likely to win than those wearing other colours.