Why is Adult Coloring Good for Adults?


Coloring is a beautiful hobby for people of all ages. It helps children develop motor skills while learning their colors, but coloring has many health benefits for adults. Besides just a way to relax while expressing creativity, coloring has many emotional and mental benefits for adults. But why is coloring so good for adults?

Coloring has many emotional and mental health benefits for adults; as an alternative to meditation, it helps reduce stress and anxiety, improves focus, strengthens fine motor skills, and can even help increase sleep quality. Coloring is a great way to relax your mind while still expressing your creativity in a controlled fashion; it lets other parts of your brain take over while you mentally unwind.

Adult coloring books offer users sophisticated illustrations in a structured environment. Sometimes, the limitless options available with free drawing one’s pictures can be overwhelming when outside concerns and decisions already overtax the artist.

Coloring is an effective way to refocus your energy away from intrusive thoughts that create or contribute to anxiety. Adult coloring has been used as a therapeutic tool almost since the advent of modern psychiatry. The founder of analytical psychology, Carl Jung, even touted adult coloring benefits and prescribed it to many of his patients. Jung believed that it could help patients get in touch with their subconscious while teaching them previously unknown truths about themselves.

How Coloring Helps Reduce Stress and Anxiety

Meditation is an excellent tool for resetting one’s brain while letting it get a few minutes of deep rest, yet some people find it hard to sit still and focus long enough to appreciate the benefits. Coloring in an adult coloring book is a mindful activity that encourages a state of meditation by helping to quiet restless minds. Yet, many folks find it to be more enjoyable and relaxing than traditional meditation. It calms the amygdala, which is the part of the brain that controls fear and is responsible for the flight or fight response.

Spending some time coloring a page in a coloring book can help turn down the fear dial in your brain. It allows your creative side to take over. Simultaneously, the analytical part of your brain enjoys some peace, only using enough logic and reasoning skills to stay inside the lines – if that’s what you’re going for, you’re in charge and can color outside the lines if you fancy.

Adult coloring books are a simple task that takes us outside of ourselves, in the same way, repetitive tasks like hand-washing dishes or vacuuming are soothing to some folks. A 2005 study illustrated how to test patients’ anxiety levels dropped while they focused on coloring mandalas, which are known for their intricate geometric detail level. Interestingly enough, doodling or drawing did not affect patients’ level of anxiety.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, “adult coloring requires modest attention focused outside of self-awareness did not affect a clinical psychologist with the Cleveland Clinic. It’s a simple activity that takes us outside ourselves in the same way, cutting the lawn, knitting, or taking a Sunday drive can all be relaxing.”

While many people find chores simultaneously productive and relaxing, a beautifully colored illustration will last longer than a clean rack of dishes. It is essential to have some hobbies that you do purely for pleasure.

In addition to allowing the artist an escape from their mind, and focusing their energy on an external task, the stakes are very low. Even if you color outside of a few lines, chances are no one is grading you or judging your efforts. It is an excellent way for recovering perfectionists to learn how to let go of things beyond their control while enjoying the process.

As Dr. Bea says, “It is hard to screw up coloring, and, even if you do, there is no real consequence. Adult coloring can be a wonderful escape, rather than a demanding test of our capacities,” he adds. In other words, have fun with it.

Coloring Helps Improve Focus

Coloring allows you to work out different parts of your mind. It engages your frontal lobe, which is the part of your brain in charge of problem-solving and organizing. This activity helps you block out external stressors, which allows you to focus on the task at hand. Coloring promotes both focus and concentration, leaving us in a state of relaxation and increased clarity that we can carry throughout our day.

Sometimes stepping back from a problem for a bit gives you the distance needed to solve it. If you are distracted by a problem and overwhelmed by anxious thoughts, spending some time focused on coloring can help provide clarity. It can ease your anxious thoughts while allowing you to see the problem in different ways. Allowing yourself to be present and focus entirely on the current moment helps alleviate anxious thoughts.

Want to learn about the benefits of mindful coloring for adults? Check out our article here!

Coloring Sharpens Your Fine Motor Skills

Many people associate coloring and coloring books with childhood because it is a fun and effective way to teach children fine motor skills and color theory. However, these are skills that should be sharpened as we age.

One unique aspect of adult coloring is that it requires both the left and right sides of your brain to work together. Selecting colors and mixing mediums to create different effects exercises your creativity while staying in the lines while coloring intricate detail work flexes your logic muscle. Most people tend to use one hemisphere more than the other depending on their profession, but exercising both can help make you more efficient.

It is also a great way to get in touch with your childhood, reminding us of happier, less stressful times when we had more opportunities to do things simply because they brought us joy. People who enjoyed coloring as kids are more likely to experience adults’ benefits due to this connection. Still, it is truly never too late to pick up this incredibly beneficial hobby.

How Coloring Can Improve Sleep Quality

Coloring can help improve the quality of your sleep by helping you disconnect from electronics. The light from computers, phones, and even television screens disrupts your body’s natural circadian rhythms by reducing the amount of melatonin it releases, tricking your body into thinking it’s daylight even if you’re scrolling your device before bed.

Disconnecting from these devices a few hours before bed allows your body to reset its internal clock, letting your brain know that it is almost time for sleep. Yet many people find it hard to unplug, even when it’s time to rest. According to the Pew Research Center, “67% of cell owners find themselves checking their phone for messages, alerts, or calls — even when they don’t notice their phone ringing or vibrating.”

Even more disturbing, Pew reports that “44% of cell owners have slept with their phone next to their bed because they wanted to make sure they didn’t miss any calls, text messages, or other updates during the night.”

Coloring before bed is a great way to relax and unwind at night, letting your mind clear itself before heading off to sleep. One benefit of traditional paper is that it does not contain light rays that disrupt your melatonin production, making it harder to fall asleep. Coloring also helps center you, engaging you in the present moment while you leave the stress of the outside world behind. It’s a fun hobby that leaves you with a lovely piece of artwork containing a personal touch.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is adult coloring the same as art therapy?

While adult coloring can undoubtedly be a component of art therapy, coloring on its own is not the same as art therapy without the involvement of a trained mental health professional. According to Marygrace Berberian, an art therapist, and professor at NYU’s Graduate Art Therapy Program, “Coloring itself cannot be called art therapy because art therapy relies on the relationship between the client and the therapist.” So while it does have proven therapeutic benefits, such as reducing anxiety, coloring on its own does not constitute therapy.

Are some adult coloring books more beneficial than others?

While creating any art can benefit one’s mental health, Psychology Today reports a groundbreaking study found that the test group was given mandalas. Color reported a more significant reduction in anxiety than those told to free-draw anything they liked. However, there was no reported difference in mindfulness between the two groups.

What are the best tools to use for adult coloring?

Some artists argue that colored pencils are preferable to crayons for adult coloring books, as they afford the colorist more precision. Yet, it’s your artwork. If it makes you happy, don’t be afraid to color with crayons or even mix mediums; you can use colored pencils for your intricate detail work and crayons for your backgrounds.

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Shawn C

Hi! I’m Shawn and I Love Coloring and Art and the people in it! I created this website as a resource to help those who are considering getting into adult coloring. My website is your one-stop destination for all the inspired instruction and resources you need to start and grow your adult coloring hobby. From geometric to floral to zen doodles and from time to time even mandala’s when I am in the mood. I have researched and gathered the information to help you in your goal of starting your adult coloring hobby.

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