7 Surprising Benefits of Coloring for Adults

Why Coloring is the New Meditation

In recent years, adult coloring books have surged in popularity, and for good reason. Psychologists and therapists have begun to prescribe coloring as a way to relax and center the mind, similar to meditation.

1. Reduces Stress and Anxiety

Coloring relaxes the fear center of your brain, the amygdala. It induces the same state as meditating by reducing the thoughts of a restless mind. This generates mindfulness and quietness, which allows your mind to get some rest after a long day at work.

2. Improves Motor Skills and Vision

Coloring requires the two hemispheres of the brain to communicate. While logic helps us stay inside the lines, choosing colors generates a creative thought process.

3. Improves Sleep

We know we get a better night's sleep when we avoid engaging with electronics at night, because exposure to the emitted blue light reduces your levels of the sleep hormone, melatonin. Coloring is a relaxing and electronic-free bedtime ritual that won't disturb your level of melatonin.

4. Improves Focus

Coloring requires you to focus, but not so much that it's stressful. It opens up your frontal lobe, which organizes and problem solves, and allows you to put everything else aside and live in the moment, generating focus.