Publisher's Synopsis
Coloring is not just for kids anymore! A popular way to relax and unwind, coloring helps relieve stress, improve focus, and even improve fine motor skills. As a centering activity, it has also been recommended by therapists as a way to combat anxiety. In terms of relaxation, the impact of coloring has been compared to that of doing yoga exercises. Coloring helps stressed-out adults feel like kids again-ones with a worry-free life-at least for awhile. Some therapists see coloring as a way for people to manage thoughts and feelings on their own-a great replacement for other less positive soothing activities such as overeating or substance abuse. One of the reasons for the coloring's calming influence is its activity-reducing effect on the brain's amygdala (also known as the "fear center"), which helps relieve stress. In addition to its calming effect, coloring is downright fun. Although adult coloring books are viewed as a hot new trend today, psychiatrists (including Carl Jung) have been prescribing coloring as a form of stress relief for more than a hundred years. In recent years, coloring has been used in a wide range of therapeutic situations, including for PTSD. Coloring has also arisen as a social activity for adults as "coloring parties" spring up in a variety of different venues-including upscale offices. As a meditative, free-time activity, coloring simply can't be beaten as a low-cost way to forget worries, improve focus, and literally open up the frontal lobe of the brain. The impact of coloring on fine motor skills and vision results from its requirement that the two hemispheres of the brain communicate-an action that involves both logic (when forms are colored) and creativity (in mixing and matching colors). In turn, these actions incorporate areas of the cerebral cortex involved in both eyesight and hand-eye coordination. Like crossword puzzles, the very activity of coloring may help to delay or prevent the onset of dementia in older adults. As a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) project, coloring couldn't be easier. If you don't feel like knitting or crocheting or making hand soaps, ceramics, or candles-or if even opening spray paint is too much trouble-coloring offers an easy alternative. And, just to be clear, this is your book, sweetie pie! You can color it any which way you want. If a raging red reindeer fits your mood, or that cat just needs a green leg, no one will stop you today! This particular coloring book, "Oodles of Doodles," features a wide variety of objectives to pique your creative coloring genius. Birds, ships, aliens, skiers, soccer balls, and fish-these-and much more, await you within this book.
