Relaxing with colors, something for you?

After a long day you flop down on the couch. You put on a series or start mindlessly scrolling. Before you know it, it's an hour and a half later and you still feel tired or restless. What if you used that time differently? Do something creative with your hands, focus your attention on something, get away from your screen for a bit.

Being creative is good for you

Being creative is not only fun, it also has positive effects on your mental and cognitive health. Activities like drawing, painting or making music can help against stress and anxiety. This is partly because creative activities lower the stress hormone cortisol. This helps you relax faster and often feel better about yourself. Many creative hobbies therefore have something of mindfulness about them, because your attention is completely focused on what you're doing.

Coloring, but for adults

Yes, exactly that coloring you used to do in elementary school. Right now it's also incredibly popular among adults. Especially on TikTok where people massively share videos of themselves coloring in coloring pages with markers. The idea is simple: you take a coloring page, choose a few colors and start. No screen, no notifications, no rush. Just calmly coloring for a bit. Many people notice that this helps them relax more easily and clear their head for a moment.

The relaxing effect of coloring

Coloring has a few properties that make it particularly calming. First, it's repetitive and predictable. You don't have to think about what you're going to create, because the drawing is already on paper. You only choose the colors, put your mind on zero and fill in the areas. That provides structure and peace. Additionally, you work with your hands, which automatically shifts your attention from your head to what you're doing. That helps to let go of worrying thoughts or stress for a while. Many people also experience a small feeling of satisfaction when a coloring page slowly takes shape. It's a simple process, but something tangible.

Getting started is super low-threshold

The beautiful thing about coloring is that it requires almost no preparation. You only need two things:

A coloring book
Markers or colored pencils

And that doesn't have to be expensive at all. For less than 15 euros you can already get everything you need. At stores like Action, Wibra or Solow you can for example buy a coloring book for about 3 euros.

For coloring, most people use markers. There are different types:

Alcohol markers
Water markers
Acrylic markers

Most people use alcohol markers, because they're the easiest to work with. The colors blend nicely into each other and give a clean result. You can start small with a set of a few colors for about 5 euros. If you really like it later, you can always buy more colors.

Choose a style that suits you

One of the nicest things about coloring is that you can choose what you want to color in yourself. Everyone likes something different. Some people love nature illustrations, while others prefer to color in abstract patterns.

Popular options are for example:

Mandalas: perfect if you love symmetry and patterns
Nature drawings: flowers, plants or landscapes
Animals: from cute pets to wild animals
Characters or people: often more challenging

Here too you don't need to look far. In the same stores where you can get markers, there are often different types of coloring books, so you can immediately choose what appeals to you.

A hobby you can start with right away

Many hobbies require preparation, supplies or a course. Coloring doesn't. You can start with it tonight. Take a coloring book, choose a few colors and just get started. It doesn't have to look like anything and you don't have to be good at it. It's just about doing something different than scrolling for a bit. Maybe you'll notice that you stop again after ten minutes. Maybe you'll suddenly be completely absorbed in it for an hour. Both are fine. Sometimes relaxation lies in the simplest things. And coloring turns out to be one of them right now.