Coloring Books for Adults as a Stressbuster
Adult coloring books are rising in popularity thanks to their ability to relieve stress, so much so that these books are making it to the bestsellers’ list throughout the world.
Typically reserved as children’s activity, the use of coloring books has been discovered to have a therapeutic effect on adults. It has been proven to improve concentration, generate wellness and mindfulness and comes close to meditation.
Some of the benefits that adults can gain from coloring books are:
- The activity of coloring helps to calm and relax you. It acts as a great stressbuster.
- Coloring involves creativity and logic. This engages both areas of the cerebral cortex and improves coordination and motor skills.
- Adults relate coloring to childhood and this triggers happy memories and optimism.
- Coloring is equivalent to meditating. The activity induces the same meditative state but gives it an interesting turn.
- It is great for dealing with anxiety, which is the most common mental condition that adults encounter. It helps deal with depression, panic and headaches as the creativity involved in coloring makes one go into a deep state of relaxation.
- Coloring activities give a chance for adults to re-discover themselves. This keeps them happy through the day and gives them something to look forward to at the end of the day.
- Coloring is known to treat patients with epilepsy as it controls their jerky hand movements and helps them calm down easily.
Once you get hooked to this activity, it rubs off on to you. You will be looking at ways to take it to another level. Here are some tips when using coloring books:
- Try out patterns and intricate designs. The pages in your coloring book will soon have interesting add-ons to what the illustrator created.
- Use paint instead of crayons and pencils. Paints give a different dimension to your art work. You can experiment with water colors or acrylics. Be sure to remove the page from the book or place a paper below it to prevent warping or seeping.
- Attempt coloring in layers as this will create a stunning effect that is visually appealing.
- You can try your hand at indenting too by placing a sheet of trace paper on the designs and indenting them with pencil or pen. This technique will succeed in adding texture and character to the end result.
- Use an object to create a unique effect. It can be a coin or some engraved object. Place them under the coloring page, gently run the pencil over them and then fill in with color. It will give the page an interesting texture. Using a palette is another option.
- Go for a blocking technique. With a white color crayon or pencil, color the page and then apply watercolor wash on top. This will make the paint resist the areas of colored white, giving it a cool and unusual look.
