Hey everyone! For my fourth and final blog of the semester, I am going to take you guys through a deep dive of some specific topics that I have been learning throughout this experiment and how I was able to relate some of these findings to the course material. I want to start with a journal that I found online from the national library of medicine called, “When Did Coloring Books Become Mindful? Exploring the Effectiveness of a Novel Method of Mindfulness-Guided Instructions for Coloring Books to Increase Mindfulness and Decrease Anxiety” As self-explanatory as the title is, the author of this journal helped me really grasp the idea of mindfulness and how to incorporate that into my daily life, especially throughout this experience. Mindfulness can be defined as “an awareness that emerges through purposefully paying attention in the present moment, non-judgmentally.” The debate of this journal comes from if coloring actual has the ability to be considered a mindful activity and points out that some of the books come with a “placebo” effect to ensure that the users are being proactive and staying in the moment. Some of these placebo effects could be an audio file consisting of nature sounds/calming music, calming words to follow along with on each page, and the use of mandala’s (the shapes used within the pictures). The results of the journal state that coloring has been proven to improve someone's mood / reduce their anxiety but is unclear about furthering the proof of mindfulness. 

     Personally, i believe that mindfulness is what you make of it and has the potential to become apparent in anything you may do, but it is up to the person themselves to decide if they would like to be mindful or not. The next journal that I looked into called “Coloring is good for your health” coming from the Mayo Clinic Health System seemed to agree with everything I am thinking as well. In this journal, the author splits his points into the following sections: promoting mindfulness, relieving stress, embracing the imperfect, and has a section for other ways to relieve stress. In each of these sections the authors gives a brief explanation on the benefits of how coloring can help accomplish each of these things. Something in this journal that really stood out to me was the emphasis that coloring is a noncompetitive activity, meaning that there is no time limit, score, or levels to accomplish, everything is done at your own pace with no worry of skill level. Something similar I have found between these two sources are certain exercises to practice as you are coloring such as focusing on your breathing patterns and tuning into your heart rate, ensuring that it stays steady. Throughout the next couple of weeks, I have made breathing habits and working in a relaxing environment a top priority to experiment with these suggestions. As a result, I do believe that with a steady breathing pattern as well as a clean room, with a couple candles and relaxing music as my favorite way to color and spend my evenings. 

Another interesting source I found online from the Cleveland Clinic called, “3 reasons adult coloring can relax your brain.” which focuses on the diverse results of coloring being used as a relaxation method and the research that has been done in order to obtain these results. The author quickly states that not all adults will enjoy coloring, it is found in most adults that also enjoyed coloring as a child. Which I have also found to be true by talking with my friends and coworkers. The responses that I received differed between each person. I could sense some slight judgement and uninterest with certain friends who do not enjoy artsy or creative hobbies, where on the other hand, I also received some very enthusiastic responses that even inspired a couple of others to grab some markers and open a coloring book as well!   

The last source that I looked into was a little bit different than the first three, where I felt as though I was getting the same information over and over again. This next source also comes from the National Library of Medicine and is called “color and psychological functioning: a review on the empirical work.” The reason that this journal is a little bit different than the ones previously mentioned, is because this journal focuses more on the colors used themselves rather than simply just the coloring books. When finding this article, I had an idea that maybe using certain colors will have a certain effect on my mood or feelings. When it comes to connecting the mind and body with my coloring books, I wanted to become more aware of the possible effects that the colors I chose would have on me. The author explains the basics of each color and the most common psychological responses from them. One of the most interesting facts that I picked up was how not only can color have an effect on the mind and emotion, but color combinations and patterns can as well. I have noticed this myself as I am coloring, where I feel peaceful and calm when the colors blend together nicely and don't leave streak marks. 

Overall, I had an amazing time throughout this experience and found a new way to relax and become present within the moment and myself. One of the major takeaways I had from my time coloring was to take time for yourself and find calming activities to help unwind at the end of the day. Once given the knowledge and tools to realize the importance of the influence the mind has on the body, is a major way to improve everyday life. I 100% plan to continue to use coloring as a form of meditation and self care.  

references:

Mantzios, M., & Giannou, K. (2018, January 30). When did coloring books become mindful? exploring the effectiveness of a novel method of mindfulness-guided instructions for coloring books to increase mindfulness and decrease anxiety. Frontiers in psychology. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5797627/ 

Joel Bobby, L. I. C. S. W. (2022, August 15). Mental health benefits of coloring. Mayo Clinic Health System. https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/coloring-is-good-for-your-health 

Cleveland Clinic. (2024, November 18). 3 reasons adult coloring can actually relax your brain. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/3-reasons-adult-coloring-can-actually-relax-brain 

Elliot, A. J. (2015, April 2). Color and psychological functioning: A review of theoretical and empirical work. Frontiers in psychology. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4383146/