Scribble Away Your Stress: Why Adult Coloring Books Are Good For You

No need to spend anything at the spa for an hour of relaxation, just take a tip from your average 6-year-old and grab a coloring book. Adult coloring books, filled with intense patterns, mandalas, and intricate designs are the newest craze, not just because they look pretty.

According to the Cleveland Clinic's clinical psychologist  Scott M. Bea, Psy.D., “Adult coloring requires modest attention focused outside of self-awareness. It is a simple activity that takes us outside ourselves. In the same way, cutting the lawn, knitting, or taking a Sunday drive can all be relaxing.”

Dr. Bea says adult coloring can be calming for these three reasons:

1. It works as a meditative exercise, pulling attention to the present and away from ourselves. 

2. It serves as relaxation time for our brains by focusing on a small activity rather than the billion other things we always think about. 

3. It is simple and predictable. As long as you know how to keep it in the lines, you can't really mess up coloring, and if you do, it doesn't matter, you just move to the next page so the low stakes make coloring calming.