Colour yourself calm

Think colouring in is just for little people? Think again. Science says (and the studied concentration on any scribbling toddler’s face shows) that colouring takes us to a happy place psychologists like to refer to as ‘flow’, which is when we’re so engrossed in the activity of the moment that other worries fade in the background like so much charcoal smudged into drawing paper (see what we did there?) Still a teeny bit sceptical?  Here are six reasons why a colouring book could benefit your life.

1. Colouring in requires hand-eye coordination so can help you to maintain a sharp mind. Because fine motor skills require extra work by your brain to coordinate your actions and muscle control in your hands and arms, colouring can help delay the loss of these important skills as we age.
2. Colouring in can help you de-stress. Colouring requires good concentration and this type of focusing on one task improves and maintains overall concentration. levels. As you colour you find yourself concentrating harder, which in turn slows your breathing and helps you reach a state of calm. In some ways, colouring in is similar to meditation as it is something that can benefit you physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. It encourages you to ‘zone out’ and forget other things going on in your life.
3. Colouring in stimulates creative thinking as it encourages you to unlock your imagination
4. Colouring in allows you to re-connect with your inner child. In the same way flying a kite and blowing bubbles can remind you of your childhood, colouring in can have the same effect.
5. As a group activity, colouring in can also help you to connect with your children. If you’ve had a stressful day, time spent playing and colouring in with your children can really lift your spirit.
6. Colouring in allows you to take yourself away from technology and to focus on an activity which doesn’t involve bright TV and computer screens.

Try it for yourself: OMY Design & Play’s Giant Posters (www.stonegift.com)