A key part of most kids’ learning processes and childhoods is coloring. Whether you prefer crayons, colored pencils, markers, or chalk, all children color at some point. Recently, coloring book creators have expanded their target audience from kids to all ages. Adult coloring books blew up a few years back, and now are as common as children’s coloring books. For kids and especially adults, coloring has actually been proven to reduce stress and boost creativity. According to Dr. Holt, lecturer at the Department of Health and Social Sciences at UWE Bristol, “Creativity and visual attention are new and exciting.”

“Coloring could be an effective way of reducing stress and improving cognitive performance,” says Holt. Whether you buy a coloring book, color your walls, or just color anything and everything, it’s a great way to release the stress and emotions built up inside of you- and it’s healthy! Expand your creativity and try coloring. The odds are you will feel a lot better about tackling stressful parts of your life.