The Science of Coloring for Stress

Adult coloring really found its stride in 2016 when coloring books with birds, unicorns, swear words, you name it, were suddenly available everywhere. Second graders everywhere felt vindicated; they’d been telling us coloring was awesome all along. One day, I came across a poster with a “Dream it, Believe it, Achieve it” quote. I naively thought it would be fun and relaxing to color my own office decor. What I didn’t anticipate was being craned over my dinner table late into the night, powering through a hand cramp, lamenting the last six hours I had devoted to shades of purple and yet not being able to call it quits until the job was finished.

Was my less than relaxing experience with coloring a common one? Maybe not, so I consulted some relevant studies to find out more.

Was my less than relaxing experience with coloring a common one? Maybe not, so I consulted some relevant studies to find out more. Muthard and Gilbertson (2016) tried to get to the bottom of what leads to the stress-reducing effects of coloring. First, they made all of their research participants give a two minute speech, and then they measured blood pressure and self-reported levels of anxiety. Half the participants were then given a mandala to color while they also practiced focused breathing. Those in the coloring group reported less anxiety even though their blood pressure and heart rate were not significantly different than the other groups’. Why did participants report lower anxiety, but things like their heart rate, pulse, and blood pressure didn’t reflect this? It’s possible they believed it was helping with stress, and that belief was reflected in their reports. So, in other words, maybe if while I was coloring that poster I repeatedly thought to myself “wow, this isn’t cramping my hand at all and I am so at peace right now,” I might have tricked myself into believing it.

Speaking of pain, a study by Stinley, Norris, and Hinds (2015) investigated whether coloring could actually help manage acute pain (rather than cause it, like in my experience). All participants were required to provide a blood sample which involved receiving a needle. Throughout the study, heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, and reported level of anxiety were monitored. Participants in the treatment group were asked to color a mandala (using an I-pad) while providing a blood sample. Those in the control received treatment as usual. For the people that reported very high anxiety prior to receiving a needle, those that were able to color had significantly less change in heart rate during the procedure. Those who couldn’t color showed a dramatic increase in heart rate during the needle, which is common symptom of stress (Stinley et al., 2015). So, coloring helped prevent their heart rate from escalating while they were getting a needle. Coloring seems to have been a helpful distraction. Maybe if I had been coloring my poster during an onslaught of needles, it wouldn’t have felt so stressful in comparison.

To see if there was something I was missing, I turned to a study by Van der Vennet and Serice (2012) that tested whether mandala coloring would reduce anxiety. Fifty adults were assigned to one of three groups: coloring mandalas, coloring a plaid design, or free coloring on a blank piece of paper. They found that coloring mandalas for twenty minutes brought anxiety levels below baseline. Similar results were not found for the plaid coloring or free coloring conditions. The people in the free coloring group struggled with the lack of direction and often paused. Of note, mandalas and plaid both have a structured design, yet those in the mandala-coloring group had less anxiety. The researchers suggest that the mandala-coloring group experienced a greater reduction in anxiety because the circular form is inherently meditative (Van der Vennet & Serice, 2012). Was my heightened anxiety from the poster coloring due to the poster's rectangular form and the fact that, in comparison to a traditional mandala, it had way too much going on? I delved further.

Babouchkina and Robbins (2015) found that people who colored within a circle (mandala) reported significantly improved mood-state compared to those who had colored within a square. Unfortunately, researchers were unable to pinpoint why that was a thing.

After consulting the research, here’s my main takeaways that probably are not a surprise to anyone: coloring seems to be stress-reducing if you enjoy it and see it as stress-reducing. If you’re stressed and need a distraction, research shows coloring is a good hobby to turn to. It sounds like coloring is especially beneficial if you find it enjoyable. That may mean keeping it structured and keeping the overall coloring picture of manageable size. Color big posters full of tiny details at your own risk. The important thing is that, if you're looking for an excuse to break out the markers, there seems to be many good reasons out there.

The important thing is that, if you're looking for an excuse to break out the markers, there seems to be many good reasons out there.

References

Babouchkina, A., & Robbins, S. J. (2015). Reducing negative mood through mandala creation: A randomized controlled trial. Art Therapy: Journal Of The American Art Therapy Association, 32(1), 34-39 6p. doi:10.1080/07421656.2015.994428

Muthard, C., & Gilbertson, R. (2016). Stress management in young adults: Implications of mandala coloring on self-reported negative affect and psychophysiological response. Psi Chi Journal Of Psychological Research,21(1), 16-28.

Stinley, N. E., Norris, D. O., & Hinds, P. S. (2015). Creating mandalas for the management of acute pain symptoms in pediatric patients. Art Therapy: Journal Of The American Art Therapy Association, 32(2), 46-53 8p. doi:10.1080/07421656.2015.1028871

Van der Vennet, R., & Serice, S. (2012). Can coloring mandalas reduce anxiety? A replication Study. Art Therapy: Journal Of The American Art Therapy Association, 29(2), 87-92 6p. doi:10.1080/07421656.2012.680047