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Benefits of Coloring

What science really says, for adults and kids.

By Color Confetti Team · Reviewed

A parent and a child coloring together at a table

The short answer

Coloring for about 20 minutes can lower stress and anxiety in the short term, and drawing works just as well. For kids, it is easy daily practice for the hand control they need for writing. Most studies are small, so think of coloring as relaxing self-care, not treatment.

  • Good evidence
  • Some evidence
  • Early evidence
  • Expert advice

Benefits of Coloring for Adults

  1. 1. Lowers stress and anxiety

    Several studies show coloring reduces anxiety right after a stressful task.

    Good evidence [1][2][3][4]

  2. 2. Drawing works just as well

    Free drawing lowered anxiety just as much as coloring. Both count.

    Try our free drawing board →

    Good evidence [5][4]

  3. 3. Boosts mindful focus

    Coloring raised mindfulness in studies, most when people got simple mindful instructions.

    Some evidence [3][6]

  4. 4. May lift your mood

    One study found a daily coloring habit lowered depressive symptoms in just one week.

    Some evidence [7]

  5. 5. Sharpens your attention

    Students showed better selective attention and creative thinking right after a coloring session.

    Early evidence [3]

  6. 6. Builds persistence on hard tasks

    Picking your own colors helped students stick with a difficult task longer afterwards.

    Early evidence [8]

Try one now

Mandalas coloring page Mandalas Flowers for adults coloring page Flowers for adults Butterflies for adults coloring page Butterflies for adults

Tip: print one mandala or flower page and color it for about 20 minutes tonight.

Benefits of Coloring for Kids

  1. 7. Builds hand control for writing

    Kids with good hand and finger control do better in school. Coloring is fun daily practice for it.

    Early evidence [9][10][11]

  2. 8. Calms test anxiety

    A few minutes of coloring right before a spelling test lowered anxiety in children.

    Some evidence [12]

  3. 9. Creative play builds the brain

    Pediatricians recommend creative, free play to help kids build self-control and social skills.

    Expert advice [13]

  4. 10. May help with ADHD attention

    A small study showed coloring sessions improved attention scores in children with ADHD.

    Early evidence [14]

  5. 11. Drawing helps memory

    In studies, drawing something helped people remember it better than writing it down.

    Get easy drawing ideas →

    Some evidence [15]

Easy pages for kids

Easy dinosaurs coloring page Easy dinosaurs Unicorns coloring page Unicorns Easy dogs coloring page Easy dogs

For kids, easy pages with big shapes and thick lines are the best place to start.

Is Coloring Therapy?

Coloring is relaxing self-care, but it is not art therapy. Art therapy needs a trained, credentialed art therapist. Therapists sometimes use coloring, and in one clinical study it helped as an add-on to normal anxiety treatment, not as a replacement. [16] [17]

3 Coloring Myths

  • Coloring activates both brain halves

    There is no study showing this. It is a popular claim without proof.

  • Mandalas are the best for anxiety

    A review found free drawing lowers anxiety just as well as mandalas.

  • Coloring can cure anxiety

    It is a helpful self-care tool, but not a replacement for medical treatment.

A 20-minute calm coloring routine

  1. 1Set a timerColor for about 20 minutes to relax.
  2. 2Pick your colorsChoose your own colors instead of copying.
  3. 3Stay mindfulNotice the feeling of the pencil moving.
  4. 4Draw or colorFree drawing works just as well.
Draw or color online Free coloring books (PDF)

No printer at home? You can also color every page online on our free drawing board.

Benefits of coloring infographic: Lowers short-term anxiety, Builds fine motor skills, Boosts mindful focus, Calms test nerves in kids, Sharpens creative thinking, Drawing works just as well
Save it for later: the benefits of coloring at a glance.

Questions and Answers

Why is adult coloring so addictive?

Coloring is low-pressure: there is no blank page, no wrong answer, and you see progress fast. Many people find that mix calming and come back to it again and again.

Does coloring help with ADHD?

A small study found coloring sessions improved attention scores in children with ADHD. It is early evidence and acts as a helpful complement, not a medical treatment.

Is coloring good for your brain?

In two randomized studies, students had sharper attention and more creative ideas right after coloring. For kids, pediatricians say creative play supports healthy brain development. Claims about using both brain halves are not proven.

What kind of therapy is coloring?

Coloring is not formal therapy. The American Art Therapy Association states that true art therapy requires a trained therapist. Coloring is simply a therapeutic self-care activity.

What is a good age for kids to start coloring?

Most children start scribbling with a fist grip around 15 months. Controlled scribbling follows at about 2 to 3 years, so that is a great time for big, simple coloring pages.

How long should you color to feel calmer?

Many studies showing reduced anxiety had participants color for about 20 minutes. Even a few minutes before a test helped calm children's nerves.

Does coloring help with anxiety?

In several studies, coloring a design or drawing freely lowered anxiety right after a stressful task. It works best as a short calming break. If anxiety is strong or lasts, talk to a doctor.

Do mandalas work better than other coloring pages?

No. A review of eight studies found that coloring mandalas and free drawing lowered anxiety about equally well.

Sources (18 studies and expert pages)
  1. Curry & Kasser (2005), Art Therapy 22(2)
  2. van der Vennet & Serice (2012), Art Therapy 29(2)
  3. Holt, Furbert & Sweetingham (2019), Art Therapy 36(4)
  4. Støre & Jakobsson (2022), Art Therapy, meta-analysis
  5. Turturro & Drake (2022), Empirical Studies of the Arts 40(1)
  6. Mantzios & Giannou (2018), Frontiers in Psychology 9:56
  7. Flett et al. (2017), Creativity Research Journal 29(4)
  8. Eaton & Tieber (2017), Art Therapy 34(1)
  9. Grissmer et al. (2010), Developmental Psychology 46(5)
  10. Cameron et al. (2012), Child Development 83(4)
  11. Dinehart & Manfra (2013), Early Education and Development 24(2)
  12. Carsley, Heath & Fajnerova (2015), Journal of Applied School Psychology 31(3)
  13. Yogman et al. / American Academy of Pediatrics (2018), The Power of Play, Pediatrics 142(3)
  14. Borzabadi Farahani et al. (2023), Art Therapy
  15. Fernandes, Wammes & Meade (2018), Current Directions in Psychological Science 27(5)
  16. American Art Therapy Association (2016), position paper
  17. Samuel et al. (2022), Animal Models and Experimental Medicine
  18. ZERO TO THREE, Learning to Write and Draw

This page shares research for general information. It is not medical advice.