Coloring Through Time: How Coloring Books Have Taught Us For Centuries

September is a major transition time of the year! Summer turns into Autumn, days get shorter, and kids go back to school. This month is a great reminder that while children get ready to continue their education, adults can too! Because learning doesn’t stop after school. So, let’s learn! This blog brings to you a brief history of coloring books!

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From the first intentional coloring book made in the late 18th Century up until the early 20th Century, coloring books were created to be painted and even once other tools such as crayons were popularized, coloring books were made with the option to be painted or colored. 

Did you know that coloring books were created to make art education more accessible to all students, no matter their social or economic standing? It was recognized that coloring was important for conceptualization, cognition development, and useful for future professional skills. This is why, inspired by Joshua Reynolds, a British artist and Swiss educator, Johann Heinrich, coloring books emerged in Europe and the United States. In the 1700s and 1800s, the creation of coloring books played a major role in the "Democratization of Art”. This is more understandably known as making the creation and appreciation of art accessible to each and every person who wants to partake. 

Although coloring books were first established for educational purposes mainly for children, it was soon realized that they are greatly beneficial to learning about topics such as anatomy, programming, and physiology in higher-education settings. Coloring books also have political uses, such as using humor to understand politics and human rights movements, as well as female empowerment. 

Adult coloring books grew in popularity in the early 21st Century as a form of therapy. As technology and social media became super prevalent and at the tip of our fingers, coloring books allowed for a sense of childhood. A space away from the screen and a way to de-stress. Coloring books and coloring as an activity have been acknowledged for centuries as an incredible past-time for everyone. Whether to learn about a topic while enhancing cognitive skills, or to just take a much-needed break, coloring books were created to lend a helping hand. 

This September, as children head back to the classroom, remember that learning and developing skills doesn’t stop there. Children and adults alike benefit from coloring, whatever the topic may be. The Tiny Book Co.™ offers coloring books for everyone with an array of themes and subjects, so you can find what best suits your interests. So, take a break and grab a coloring book! Hey, maybe you’ll learn something!

The Neuroscience of Coloring: How Coloring Improves Brain Function

Coloring activates different parts of your brain, which is why it benefits people of all ages. While coloring, you’re choosing different colors, staying focused, and engaging in cognitive and motor coordination. Identifying and coloring the shapes and pictures activates the creativity part of your brain and uses the logical part of the brain as well. Using different parts of your brain, like when coloring, is a little like using and exercising different muscles while working out. What that means is that those pathways within your brain are going to be strengthened and will be faster and easier to use for other tasks. Similarly, just like working out our physical bodies is important, so is working out our brains! 

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The act of coloring is a repetitive one, but it also requires a certain attention to detail. Because of these two things, it means that you’re going to focus on what you’re doing at the moment and not what might have been bothering you during the day. At the same time, it is not an activity that requires so much attention that you can overexert yourself while doing it. Having that repetitive act and sustained concentration allows your brain to make stronger neural connections within itself faster over time. This can help overall brain health and may even slow cognitive decline as we age.

A fun fact about coloring is that it incorporates both sides of the brain. The left hemisphere is recognized as the analytical side linked with speech, reading, logic, and precision. The right hemisphere is believed to be connected with creativity, abstract thinking, perception, and intuition. Engaging both sides through activities such as coloring boosts the efficiency and operation of our brains, making it easier to learn and benefit our bodily functions. Activating both hemispheres simultaneously strengthens the link between the two sides, known as the corpus callosum. A solid corpus callosum can result in enhanced memory retention and problem-solving skills. This benefits other aspects of our lives, whether personal or professional. The ability for our brains to share information effectively reduces the stress and mental exhaustion of complex tasks. Indicating a more seamless and stressless experience of daily life.

Coloring is a great activity for kids because growing strong neural connections while the brain is developing sets up brain functionality in a positive direction. For adults, the benefits of coloring can be not only to strengthen but also to maintain mental cognition through stress-free, stimulating activity. The Tiny Book Co.™ is a great resource for children and adults to take some time and engage both hemispheres in a fun and beneficial way. The small pages enable stimulation that activates creativity, concentration, precision, and intuition without being overwhelming or time-consuming. With so many different themes, you can choose the ones that pique your and your kids' interest. Which keeps coloring a great mental exercise and, of course, fun!

Mindfulness Made Easy: Why You Should Pick Up a Coloring Book

Life is stressful. With bills, work, finding time for friends and family and finding time for yourself; it can all add up and cause a lot of stress. Something easy that can be helpful in dealing with or relieving these kinds of issues is coloring! Coloring is not only a fun activity where you are able to be creative in an easy manner, but it also has benefits for your mental and physical health. When talking about why coloring has mental benefits, one of the main reasons is it’s a stress reliever! Coloring offers stress relief and anxiety reduction through mindfulness on a daily basis. Let’s talk about why you should start coloring as an adult.

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To start off, we know coloring is a great way to help children improve with skills such as hand-eye coordination and creativity, but it can also help adults in some essential stress-relief. Working on a task such as coloring enters your brain into a meditative state allowing for a much-needed break for your brain! This means stress and anxiety levels can be potentially lowered and by focusing on the present coloring it can help achieve mindfulness. The task of coloring is not only a fun one for self-expression but also means that you’re turning off your brain from all those worries for a little bit. The meditative part of coloring will also improve as you do it more and more and learn to let go of what’s going on and focus on the present task of making a picture colorful in a meaningful way to you.

Daily obligations are what takes up most of our time as adults. With the limited free time available in the day, it’s important to find ways to take time for yourself and do some self-care. Taking even just a few minutes each day to do something beneficial can be incredibly helpful for alleviating some of that pressure from our lives. Sitting down for ten minutes to color, listening to some music, and taking time for yourself is such an easy and quick way to make sure you’re doing something good for mental wellness. The small pages in The Tiny Book Co.™ coloring books make coloring even easier and offer quick gratification when the page is done. You can look at that coloring page and be proud that not only did you practice creativity but also positive mental health practices.

Coloring is an easy, affordable, and powerful technique to relieve stress, clear your head, and ignite your creativity. Picking up a coloring book could be just the thing your brain needs, whether you're seeking a regular mindfulness practice or just need a little respite from your hectic schedule. This is made even simpler with The Tiny Book Co.™ coloring books - small pages that make a great impact. So, take out your colored pencils and markers, turn on your favorite tune, and let yourself take a moment to relax, breathe, and destress.