Adult Coloring Books Reduce Stress and Enhance Creativity

Adult Coloring

Adult Coloring Books

Crayons, markers, colored pencils, and that classic coloring book; now all you need is your children, right? Not anymore.

Adults have always been able to color with their kids, but not like they can now. Not only are adult coloring books sweeping the nation, they are sweeping Amazon’s best-seller lists, as well as the hearts of adults everywhere.

Coloring = Calmness, Creativity

These elaborately designed workbooks feature intricate outlines and detailed patterns to provide a mature coloring experience. Just because the pictures are less basic doesn’t mean that you can’t feel like a creative kid again.

"I just felt that there was an opportunity for people to be creative and do something with their hands," designer Johanna Basford said in an interview with CBS News. "You know, a blank sheet of paper could be quite intimidating. But with a coloring book, the outlines will be there, and I wondered if people would latch onto that as a chance to sort of flex the creative muscle."

People have. Basford has sold over 5 million of her hand-drawn coloring books. She pegs nostalgia and accessibility as the reasons for her success.

The coloring books provide the opportunity to achieve a sense of calmness and creativity. These qualities can help increase self-esteem, self-reflection, and even sleep.

"[Creativity] enlivens you," art therapist Linda Turner told the New York Daily News. "[You] feel better about self, day, moment."

Stop Stressing!

You don’t have to color everyday to de-stress. Try out a Taste for Life calming bath or work these stress relief tips into your daily life!

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