the basics
WHY IS COLORING GOOD FOR YOU?
You spent countless hours coloring the books your parents gave you as a child to keep you busy, and it was
unthinkable that coloring would be a hobby or a mindfulness practice you would want to pick up as an adult, but
here you are! Why? Because adult coloring is a healthy hobby.
Coloring is a form of dynamic meditation and an artistic way to clear the mind. We’re taking it a step further and
helping you develop useful, real artistic skills and learning the fundamentals of visual arts as you learn to color your
coloring book, but before we get into coloring techniques that will help you discover your inner artist, let’s look at
some benefits of adult coloring books.
Adult Coloring Reduces Stress and Anxiety
The stressful lifestyle many of us lead does not easily give us the opportunity to take a moment to relax—we have
to make it happen.
We are bombarded with millions of pieces of information every day. It can be too much for our brains. On top of
that, the average person has around 60,000 thoughts per day, with 75% of them being negative and 95% being
repetitive. We need an escape, a release, one that’s not just adding more things to our brains, like with TV shows,
movies and YouTube videos.
Coloring can be that outlet to help you turn those thoughts into art and adult coloring books are an easy gateway
to get started in the visual arts.
Coloring books will put your mind at rest after a long day at work. Coloring evokes the same state of mindfulness
as meditation. Studies have shown that focusing on the complex structure of your coloring page can help put your
mind into a meditative state. The meditative state occurs when you stop focusing on future or past worries and
only focus on the present. In other words, coloring books can help calm the anxiety of a restless mind!
If you’re dealing with stress or anxiety, or just had a bad day, take a page from your favorite coloring book and put
some color in it. Adult coloring books release stress.
Adult Coloring Improves Focus
Coloring encourages you to pay attention to the details—it’s a key therapeutic benefit of adult coloring books. To
color a page successfully, you must concentrate on small areas and work through many lines.
While you are relaxing and having fun, you are exercising your concentration. Whether at work or at school, the
benefits of coloring will be reflected in the quality of your work. How about that!
Adult Coloring Makes You More Creative
As we age, some of us may disconnect from our creative flair. Work, responsibilities, routine, you know, life “gets in
the way.” When you try to figure out how to color inside the lines or which colors go together, you are exercising the
creative side of your brain. Guess what? Creativity begets more creativity.
Interestingly, through coloring, you also engage the other half of your brain, enhancing focus, concentration, and
organization. As a result, adult coloring books exercise your entire brain. This could be enough to help you think
outside of the box while solving problems in other areas of your life. Cool uh?
Adult Coloring Connects You to Your Inner Child
And the most important reason why adult coloring books are good for you? You get to feel like a kid again! During
childhood, we enjoy the simple things, right? Remember how easy it was to laugh about anything? Coloring is as
easy as it gets.
Go back to the good ol’ days when you didn’t have anything to worry about.
Adult coloring books are a fun way to relive childhood memories and pamper your inner child.
SOME OF THE ARTISTS IN OUR BOOKS
Beau Stanton
Natalia Rak
Lady Pink
