Coloring Mandalas lowers anxiety

​Coloring Mandalas Lowers Anxiety
Improves Attention and Creative Thinking
 
I follow emerging research about mandalas, and I’m happy to report that more and more benefits of creating and coloring mandalas are being discovered. A new study finds coloring mandalas not only reduces anxiety but also improves attention and creative thinking.

A paper published in Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association (December 2019), describes results from an experiment conducted by English researchers with undergraduates. Participants colored mandalas, then took tests that measured mood, attention, and divergent thinking. A control group that did not color mandalas also took the tests. Researchers found that when test results for the group coloring mandalas were compared with those of the control group, the coloring mandalas group had lower levels of anxiety. The study confirms other research reports. Moreover, the English study’s authors reported that after coloring mandalas, participants “scored significantly higher on selective attention and original ideation.”

​Coloring mandalas reduces anxiety, improves attention, and sparks original thinking—such a simple, enjoyable, cost effective intervention for people who feel anxious, lack focus, or have other problems to solve. I wish I could gift every student with a mandala coloring book and good quality pencils for coloring! And while I’m waving my magic wand, I would place mandala coloring books in hospitals, nursing homes, senior centers, churches, doctors’ offices, and waiting rooms everywhere.