When should adults color?

When should you color with your art therapy adult coloring books?

What is the right time to color? If you research any other meditative practice or stress reducing practice you will find lots of advice about when to do it, how long you should spend, and guaranteed ways to make it work for you.

The truth about coloring is that it’s meditative, but it’s also fun. There is no secret recipe to make coloring work for you. Of course, the more frequently you color, the more relaxed you are likely to be, just as you would be if you meditated frequently. But remember, coloring is something you do primarily for enjoyment, so follow what seems fun to you. The last thing you want is to be stressed out about coloring because you’ve put it on a to-do list!

When you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed

Times when you are stressed or overwhelmed might seem like the wrong time to try to sit down, relax, and color. You have things to do, after all. You naturally feel like you should get things done and get the pressure off yourself that way.

Unfortunately, that is not at all the most effective way to deal with stress. When you are emotionally rattled and overwhelmed, you aren’t going to do your best work. This is actually a great time to calm down and relax with a nice coloring page. If you don’t have a lot of time to color (which is most likely the case if you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed), even taking a few minutes to color can be extremely beneficial. It will help you calm down, slow your heart rate, clear your mind, and let your subconscious work through some of the issues that are causing you anxiety while your conscious mind rests and focuses on the coloring. Then you can go back to your tasks refreshed with a clear mind to solve problems better and work more efficiently.

When you are feeling stressed, you are also a lot more likely to lash out emotionally, saying something you don’t mean, which can damage relationships. Try it out! You’ll be amazed at the changes in your stress level.

When you have free time

Coloring isn’t just about relieving stress and improving your mental health. It’s also about having fun. Pull out your coloring book whenever you have free time and enjoy the relaxation it brings. Adult coloring pages aren’t designed to be completed in one sitting, which means you can color whenever you have a moment without having to worry about whether you have enough time to be able to get a page finished.

Coloring is also something you can do as a social activity. Bring along some extra coloring pages and colored pencils to share when you get together with friends, and share the fun! Whether you color alone or in a group, adult coloring books are a great way to relax and have fun while you enjoy your free time.

Color for hours on end

Set a child down in front of a children’s coloring book and they might color for five or ten minutes before finishing the page. Sit down with an adult coloring page, and you have hours upon hours of coloring that you can do. If you have a free evening with nothing to do, consider coloring as a healthier and more relaxing alternative to sitting in front of the TV.

Color in small segments when you have time

In our modern world, most of us are busy practically all the time. We might have an occasional day or evening off without a lot of things we need to get done, but usually we are going all the time. At the same time, life is full of moments when we are forced to waste time. We sit and wait for a bus or a train, we wait for the doctor to see us, we wait for a loved one having surgery, and we wait for a million other reasons. Your adult coloring book is the perfect way to relax and refresh yourself during these wait times. Why sit around being bored or burying yourself in your phone when you could pull out your adult coloring book and your colored pencils and take the opportunity to do something really fun while you wait?

Color whenever you want

The bottom line is, you should color whenever you want to. If you feel like coloring, pull out your coloring book and color. Whether you have 30 seconds to yourself or hours, a little bit of coloring can help you calm down, relax, and feel more joyful and peaceful. It makes you feel good, and there’s really no wrong time to do something that makes you feel good.

Adult coloring books are a wonderful, stress relieving hobby. Let your creativity go wild and have fun. You’ll find yourself wondering what you ever did before adult coloring books became a thing.