It’s an unlikely past time, but coloring is a fantastic way to reduce stress, keep your mind sharp and release your creativity.
Coloring allows you to relieve stress and unlock creativity you may have not known you had. As psychologist Antoni Martínez explains: “I recommend it as a relaxation technique. We can use it to enter a more creative, freer state. I recommend it in a quiet environment, even with chill music. Let the color and the lines flow.”
Here are some ways coloring can make you a happier person.
Improve concentration. Our concentration is often incredibly split between work, home, electronics etc. When you sit down and focus on one thing, like coloring, it improves your ability to focus elsewhere.
Release your inner creativity. Adults who color are more likely to approach problems with a clearer mind and find better and faster solutions.
It’s like meditation. When you color, your brain has the same reaction as when you meditate.
It improves your motor skills. You’ll be using a lot of hand-eye coordination.
Get rid of negativity. When you color, you focus on what you’re doing and you just sort of naturally release tension and unconscious negativity that you’re carrying around.
RESULT: An overall decrease in your anxiety and stress.
Ben Michaelis, a psychologist, says, “There is a long history of people coloring for mental health reasons. Carl Jung used to try to get his patients to color in mandalas at the turn of the last century, as a way of getting people to focus and allow the subconscious to let go. Now we know it has a lot of other stress-busting qualities as well.”
Having a cruddy day? Get out those crayons and colored pencils and start coloring! Check out our coloring book options here.
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