Colour Your Way to a Stress-free Life

Ashleigh
Jan 18, 2017
2 min read

Colouring in has developed into a massive trend since its beginnings as a niche hobby – colouring books find themselves on bestselling lists and you can colour in pretty much anything you want these days. However, while this trend is fun to pass the time, it’s the therapeutic qualities of colouring in that really have people hooked. Many people claim that colouring in has a large range of mental health benefits, such as the ability to reduce anxiety, stress and depression, as well as create focus.

Work-related stress affects around 1.5% of the working population, and is the second most commonly reported cause of occupational ill health in Britain, and so is clearly a massive issue. There are many ways to relieve stress, however one of the most effective and easiest ways is by colouring in. It helps to make people calmer, mentally clearer, and more relaxed. The way it helps with stress and anxiety is that it calms down our amygdala, which is part of the brain that controls out fight or flight response, and keeps individuals in a heightened state of worry, panic, and hyper-vigilance when it is active. Colouring and focusing on this activity can actually calm that response down, and let your brain have some much needed rest and relaxation.

The effectiveness of colouring in and the impact it has on reducing stress has been demonstrated in several studies. Groundbreaking research carried out in 2005 proved that when subjects coloured in mandalas (round frames filled with geometric patterns), their anxiety levels dropped considerably. Whilst colouring books and all kinds of art therapy in general may not be able to cure diseases or mental health issues, it makes coping with such problems a lot easier.

According to the American Art Therapy Association, art therapy is a mental health profession in which the process of making and creating artwork is used to “explore feelings, reconcile emotional conflicts, foster self-awareness, reduce anxiety and increase self-esteem”. Specialists have argued that colouring in doesn’t constitute art therapy, however it can be seen to have very similar benefits and therapeutic advantages, and has proved particularly effective for those who aren’t comfortable with more creatively expressive forms of art.

So something as simple as colouring in can be an effective tool to help combat stress and improve the standards of your working life. Why not try it yourself and download the images we’ve provided below for you to colour in.