Do coloring books reduce stress? What does the research say

Adult coloring books have become extremely popular over the last few years. They range from simple, cosy and cute scenes reminiscent of kids colouring books to animal zentangle books with intricate patterns of mandala and animals.  Some include quotes and affirmations from the uplifting to the sweary.

When I’ve talked to friends about this, many are amazed at the idea of adults choosing to spend their free time coloring. Yet there is lots of evidence from personal experience to research with many different groups that coloring can be therapeutic and enjoyable.

Firstly, it can be a relatively inexpensive hobby. Colouring pens are getting cheaper and are available in a vast array of colours. Most colouring books are not expensive to buy.

Secondly it takes you away from screens. Concentrating on colouring a scene or intricate pattern can mean that the phone and social media lie forgotten, while you’re totally absorbed in what you are doing.

People recount how beneficial they find it. They will tell you that it reduces stress and improves their mood. The evidence is not just anecdotal.  Research confirms what people who colour will tell you.

Research has been undertaken with students, patients receiving palliative care, people suffering from generalised anxiety disorder, and also those with early-stage Alzheimer’s. Everyone benefitted from the simple act of colouring.

The Mayo Clinic says:

“Coloring is a healthy way to relieve stress. It calms the brain and helps your body relax. This can improve sleep and fatigue while decreasing body aches, heart rate, respiration, and feelings of depression and anxiety.”

Researchers reviewing the research that had taken place up to 2017 wrote:

“… a reduction in anxiety, pre- to post coloring is consistently reported”

Two researchers at the University of the West of England found that taking up colouring can help reduce stress and improve creativity in adults.  

In one of their studies 47 first-year undergraduates (36 of them female) attended a session in which they were asked to take part in reading and colouring. They completed various psychological tests at the start of the session and after taking part in each activity.

Some participants did the reading first, while others did the colouring first. The reading consisted of a chapter on study skills, while the colouring task involved colouring in a mandala.

The researchers found that after colouring for 20 minutes participants reported being more contented, more energetic and calmer than after reading. They also reported higher levels of mindfulness (attending to what is happening in the present moment) and flow (being ‘in the zone’). It did not matter whether they had coloured first or read first, and all these findings reached statistical significance.

Other researchers looked at patients with GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder and concluded that “adding coloring treatment to conventional medication and physical therapy not only has the effect of reducing depressed mood and negative mood, but also its effect of reducing anxiety and improving positive mood is better than that of conventional treatment.

New Zealand researchers tested whether adult coloring was related to improvements in psychological outcomes. Female university students were randomly assigned to a coloring intervention or a logic-puzzle control group.

Participants completed an inventory of psychological measures (depressive symptoms, stress, anxiety, flourishing, resilience, mindfulness) and then participated in a 1-week intervention of either daily coloring or logic-puzzles.

 Following the intervention, participants again completed the inventory of psychological measures. Coloring participants showed significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms and anxiety after the intervention, but control participants did not.

The researchers concluded that daily coloring can improve some negative psychological outcomes and that it may provide an effective, inexpensive, and highly accessible self-help tool for nonclinical samples.

People who are ill or in recovery can find coloring helpful. It’s something that they can pick up and put down easily depending on how they feel. A coloring book and some pens is a really thoughtful gift in situations like this. But don’t forget to buy them for yourself too.