Well, apparently they were back then and still are today for people of all ages. People are making the adult coloring books bestsellers on Amazon! At the time of this writing, eight of the top twenty books on the bestsellers list, are coloring books for adults. There must be something behind this recent growth in interest.
So why the fascination, and how can they help you? In the most basic sense, the act of applying colored media to intricate line drawings is a benefit to relaxation and stress reduction. You are able to put the outside world aside for the moment and focus on the art of coloring singularly. Studies have shows that anxiety levels dropped in adults that colored. They did note that simple doodling had no affect on anxiety. The focus on coloring and switching off the brain allows that blocking of anxiety in the moment. Coloring does not have a need for complicated thought processes and like listening to calming music, you are able to get within yourself, isolated from external anxiety, commotion, and distractions.
When I was a child I just loved to draw and paint but, as I remember, before I even could begin to draw accurately I used to color in. The next stage was to learn to draw using stencils and then I graduated to be able to draw freehand which provided me with an absolutely fantastic sense of achievement. I went on to love drawing but the point I am trying to make is that it all started with the simple yet effective art of coloring in!
