5 reasons coloring is good for your health
Photo Credit: Health Starts In The Kitchen
When you imagine a coloring book and a box of crayons...do you immediately think of young children? Do you think back to your own childhood and remember many happy hours choosing just the right crayon for your masterpiece?
Most children enjoy coloring books. It stimulates imagination, introduces children to different shades of colors, and enhances motor skills. Many people will say at some time in their life that they "outgrew their coloring books". What is more likely is that children absorbed the social message that coloring books are for little kids only. They may have tossed their crayons away in hopes of seeming more mature, choosing to part ways with their coloring books remorsefully.
Not all children do this however. There are still a good many older kids that color. And even more kids that set aside coloring books to begin drawing their own pictures.
Still, a vast majority of people make it to adulthood, and never think to pick up a coloring book again. In recent years, that has begun to change. Coloring books are being given to the elderly to help maintain motor skills. They are being used in therapy to help adults express their emotions.
HERE ARE 5 REASONS COLORING IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH:
Promoting Coordination – Today, few adults enjoy hobbies that encourage eye-hand coordination. We use sewing machines and embroidery machines. We type or email letters. As children, we work very hard to develop our motor skills, therefore it is a shame to let them go after we become adults. Because fine motor skills require extra work by your brain to coordinate your actions, and muscle control in your hands and arms, coloring can help delay loss of these important skills as we age. It may also help fight cognitive loss, especially if we choose challenging pieces every so often.
Creative Outlet – Everyone has the potential to be creative. However, sometimes our imaginations are stifled by social expectations, daily life, and limited time. The more educated we are, the more often we will prefer to look at things the way they are supposed to be, rather than allowing our minds to wander over imaginative possibilities.Yes, as we grow and learn we feed our brains millions of facts, and in turn, our brains become stodgy and boring. They begin to think analytically instead of creatively. Then we wonder how come we can't "see" certain things, such as how to design a room.A paralyzed sense of creativity can appear suddenly and block our creative flow at unexpected moments. We may not be able to think of a unique gift, a funny comeback, or a way to organize our home using what we have on hand. Our analytical side takes over and says that we must use things that are made especially for these occasions. So we buy the top gift, quote someone else's funny remark, and buy a storage system that is designed especially to suit our needs. When we use coloring books as therapy, we are helping to unlock our imaginations. Even more so if we challenge ourselves to "color outside of the lines", so to speak.
Relax & De-Stress – Because coloring (or any other type of art) requires attention to detail, it helps you to "zone out" and forget other things going on in your life. Some people have to devote their full attention to coloring. Others find that they can color while their mind wanders. This can help you relax. And when you relax, amazing things happen!Relaxing helps lower your blood pressure. It can also lessen anxiety, reduce tension headaches, and relieve digestive upsets. Just consider it a form of meditation. Sometimes, while you are concentrating on coloring, you may find that the solution to a problem occurs to you without warning. You have just released your creativity, and improved your health.
Boost your Self Esteem & Sense of Accomplishment – Just as we hang up children's artwork on the fridge in celebration of their accomplishment, we all can receive the same boost to our self esteem by producing beautiful artwork. Coloring is the perfect way to feel like an artist, even if you don't have any artistic abilities. You don't have to go so far as to hang your most recent coloring project on the fridge, just reviewing your completed work over time provides the same satisfaction.
Inexpensive FUN! – In today's day and age, it seems like everything is expensive. Taking a yoga class to help you relax a few times a week can easily run you over a hundred dollars a month. These relaxing expenses tend to cause many people stress in the financial and time commitment. While coloring is a very inexpensive hobby that you can do anywhere, anytime that you feel like you need to unwind and go ahead admit it – coloring is also a boat-load of fun!
GETTING STARTED COLORING
Coloring books are available at almost any store. Dollar stores carry huge books filled with numerous drawings for a reasonable price. Some of these may be fun and cartoony. Others may be very detailed and realistic. Choose whatever style suits your needs, just don't let being a grown-up deter you from trying a fun coloring book. No one else needs to know that you color...so try several styles.
If you don't think you will like coloring children's books, you can purchase adult coloring books too. These have more grown-up themes and motifs. Some are line art reproductions of famous paintings. Others are landscapes, mandalas, and florals meant to satisfy more mature tastes.
My favorite adult coloring book is Secret Garden by Johanna Bashford.
Photo Credit: Health Starts In The Kitchen
Adult coloring books sometimes have very small details. This makes them more tedious to color. Rather than crayons, I recommend purchasing a nice set of fine tipped markers or colored pencils for these books. To enhance your coloring experience, pay a little more and get water-color pencils. The colors can be blended easier, and will look more like a painting when completed.
Now watch- Adult coloring can actually relieve stress: