Coloring is a great way to be in the present as it requires just a taste of concentration to do. Seniors who are looking for an activity to do during the day can benefit greatly from picking up adult coloring as it allows seniors an avenue to connect with their inner selves through creativity.
Coloring and Self-Expression
The great thing about seniors picking up an adult coloring hobby is there are a multitude of subjects with which to color. There are many different themes and subjects available in the adult coloring book market such as animals, mandalas, and humorous pages.
The book that a senior coloring book artist picks can be curtailed to their unique interests. Since coloring activities are usually associated with kids, it also allows a senior an opportunity to access earlier memories of enjoyment through coloring. This revisiting of youth can be invigorating for older adults and allows them to recall earlier memories of satisfaction and creativity. This improves memory, which can suffer as older adults age.
Coloring Increases Focus
Since an adult coloring book artist is focused on the picture at hand, it increases the ability to focus on other aspects of life by showing a senior that they are still capable of completing a project. This sense of accomplishment can be transferred to other daily tasks and projects that may arise.
Activities like analyzing the lines of a coloring book page and picking the colors to be used allow a senior to make directed decisions that can be seen in the final project. Trying to stay within the lines on the page and making sure color schemes make sense requires a bit of focus without being overwhelming which in turn allows seniors the opportunity to zone in on a coloring book and escape what is going on around them.
The capacity to pay attention to a coloring activity increases attention span by allowing an elderly member of society the opportunity to focus on something for a prolonged period. An increased attention span makes the monotonous daily tasks of life easier to complete because a senior may be able to focus longer on the task at hand.
Coloring Decreases Anxiety
Seniors sometimes experience anxiety for a multitude of reasons, and coloring can help ease these anxieties by occupying the mind. It’s anxiety-inducing to not be able to live an independent lifestyle anymore, and the anxieties caused by this lack of independence can be shelved while a coloring activity is taking place.
Sometimes, in the busy world that exists today, it’s easy to get lost in day-to-day activities and it is even easier to talk oneself out of creative activities. Sometimes individuals have a hard time letting go of the stressors of the world, but adult coloring for seniors allows older adults the opportunity to break out of their mold and change their mindset through passive focus.
Coloring can spawn a contemplative mood and a distraction, which allows senior citizens the opportunity to let the things that cause them anxiety melt away while they’re engaged. Since one must reflect on their piece throughout the process, a senior’s tendency to dwell on the past and experience anxiety over missed opportunities or life events is suspended while they’re engaged in adult coloring.
The distractive quality of allowing for color choice also reduces anxiety because seniors can choose colors that reflect their mood and in essence, can transfer their negative emotions to the page instead of internalizing what is bothering them. This transference of emotions to the page reduces anxiety because the senior can put their emotions on the page instead of letting them bounce around in their head which can whip up their flight or fight response, the main component of anxiety attacks.
Motor Skills and Coloring
As someone ages, the ability to perform fine motor skills decreases. Coloring allows for the opportunity to perform detailed muscle control in the hands and arms of an elderly person. This can then transfer over to non-coloring related tasks that are involved with living a normal daily life.
Since motor skills begin to fail with age, something like adult coloring can greatly improve dexterity and precision in seniors through the act of gripping. The pencil and the detailed effort required to color in the lines exercise skills that seniors may not achieve anywhere else, while also providing enjoyment.
Remember that seniors are adults, so the tools that are presented for an adult coloring session need to be appropriate to their age. Presenting an elder member of society with crayons may upset them because they believe they are being reduced to the simplicity of children. To avoid this, offer a variety of pens and colors that can be used. This variation of coloring utensils also aids in the analysis of objects that will need to be handled to complete an adult coloring book activity.
Learn more about seniors and coloring HERE.
Dementia and Coloring
One of the unfortunate side effects of dementia in seniors is irritability and confusion. Coloring greatly assists with these common problems. Since coloring is fluid, in that it doesn’t require much directed concentration or intricate steps, it can be soothing by providing the patient with the dopamine rush associated with completing projects while allowing them to do projects on their timetable. Coloring gives dementia patients an avenue for self-expression when they may be otherwise unable to communicate. When someone is non-verbal because of a debilitating disease, their frustration with not being able to convey their thoughts can run rampant in their lives. Coloring provides a means of communication that can’t be found in other activities because the patient can self-express.
The relief from anxiety and depression that a dementia patient can receive through coloring should not be understated. The occupation that comes with undertaking an activity like coloring can allow a patient to lose themselves in the activity instead of remaining in a state of confusion which causes aggravation. This socialization can be invaluable to those who are dealing with the effects of dementia on their loved ones.
Coloring for dementia patients also gives caregivers and family members a viable way to interact with someone suffering from dementia. Again, this is because coloring is fluid and does not require any meticulous steps that are hard for dementia patients to follow. Families that would like their children to become acquainted with an older family member with dementia can use coloring as a medium for interaction that is soothing to the elder patient as well as the kids.
If the person living with dementia cannot select the subject matter of the piece with which they will color, make sure to pick one that isn’t too abstract or surreal. This can lead the participant to become agitated or more confused because the subject isn’t easily understood. Try picking activities that harken to concrete memories, like doing laundry, pets, or cars. You can also relate the subject matter to important memories that can be valuable with recollection when coaxed out of the participant by the activity in front of them.
Conclusion
Since coloring is soothing, it can reduce the blood pressure and heart rates of the elderly through relaxation. This means that coloring can be beneficial to one’s health, especially for older citizens looking for a therapeutic activity that will help them with the stressors of getting older.
It can be easy to fall into the trap that artistic expression involves well-developed skills and the mind of an artist. The great thing about adult coloring is it presents a creative endeavor that can easily be completed without a detailed knowledge of the arts.
Seniors tend to crave praise because they can feel isolated and disconnected from younger generations. Remember to compliment the senior coloring book artist in your life upon the completion of a page or even while they’re in the process of coloring. Your enthusiasm will keep them coloring for days to come!
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