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Color affects us more powerfully than we assume. It has the ability to make humans feel happy, sad, and every emotion in between. Color is more than aesthetically pleasing; it is emotion-altering. Researchers know this and are helping certain companies manufacture products—adult coloring books, specifically—that promote the use of color for the good of the human psyche.
The Phenomenon of Adult Coloring Books
It is the rare individual who did not color as a child. Coloring is an activity that is not only fun, but also excellent for the development of fine-motor skills. Interestingly, in the past year or so, coloring has become wildly popular among adults. Most people wouldn’t necessarily consider coloring in a coloring book to be an engaging activity for grown individuals. However, it is becoming an accepted and even trendy pastime. Go just about anywhere where people have to wait—the airport, the doctor’s office, etc.—and you’ll not only see children coloring, but adults, too.
The Amazing Benefits of Coloring for Adults
There is a multitude of benefits that coloring offers adults. For example, coloring…
1. Calms you down – Did you know that, according to some, coloring has the same peace-promoting properties as meditation. CNN’s article Why Adult Coloring Books are Good for You states, “Groundbreaking research in 2005 proved anxiety levels dropped when subjects colored mandalas, which are round frames with geometric patterns inside. Simply doodling, though, had no effect in reducing the other subjects’ stress levels. Just like meditation, coloring also allows us to switch off our brains from other thoughts and focus only on the moment, helping to alleviate free-floating anxiety.” If you struggle with anxiety and can’t seem to calm down, you may want to give coloring a try.
2. Promotes mindfulness – “Mindfulness” has become a buzzword in the mental health world. Greater Good defines mindfulness as “maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment.” Now, before you assume this is a bad thing (who wants to be more mindful of their depression or anxiety?), understand that mindfulness decreases “negative” emotions over the long haul. How? By training our brains to accept all of our feelings, the good and the bad, and bringing us into the present moment where we are not rehearsing the past or obsessing about the future. There are several specific activities that increase mindfulness, and coloring is one of them. Coloring keeps your mind in the here-and-now, protecting your mind from wandering. Anyone who feels stuck in the past or future should try his or her hand at coloring.
3. Boosts creativity – There is no such thing as a non-creative individual. All of us are creative to varying degrees. While not everyone will agree that they are creative by nature, everyone will almost certainly agree that they could use a greater measure of creativity. This is where coloring comes in. When practiced by adults, coloring in adult-specific coloring books unstops a person’s creative flow. Scott Barry Kaufman said that coloring provides adults with a way to “flex their creativity.” It makes sense that using your “creativity muscles” would cause them to grow. Adults feeling weak in the area of creativity may be thrilled with the results of coloring.
Coloring: a New Favorite Pastime for Adults
Have you tried coloring with crayons or colored pencils in a coloring book designed specifically for adults? If not, give it a try! You might just discover that it is your favorite new pastime. Another pastime you might love is Segmation SegPlay PC and SegPlay Mobile, a digital paint-by-number game for Windows PC and your Mobile Device (iOS, Android and Kindle Fire). The amazing thing about this game is that there are hundreds of different patterns that are compatible with it. Check them out and let us know what you think of SegPlay PC and SegPlay Mobile!
What do you think of the phenomenon of adult coloring? Share your thoughts with us in the section below.
Read more Segmation blog posts about art and color:
Coloring Book Fosters Emotional Healing
What Your Favorite Color Reveals About Your Personality
Be an Artist in 2 minutes with Segmation SegPlay® Mobile for Kindle Fire, Android and iOS (see more details here)