The colouring book has entertained children for generations - providing a gentle, non-challenging, activity to while away the hours. Now, colouring books are enjoying a resurgence - with three of this week’s top sellers on Amazon being colouring-in books for grown ups.
So why are those well into double figures sharpening colouring pencils and staying neatly within the lines?
Well, colouring-in helps us de-stress and self-express – with some books even labeling themselves as art therapy.
The sudden surge in adult colouring-in has been somewhat attributed to our current fascination with mindfulness - a form of meditation, which at its simplest involves focusing on the present. These books let us get lost in magical worlds and designs, providing an old-school opportunity to switch off. They don’t involve phones, tablets or computers - and with the average Brit spending a depressing 6.7 hours staring at a screen each day, this is a refreshing feature.
Experts say that colouring-in calms an over active mind due to engaging the brain enough to stop it whirring but not so much that the concentration is draining - but I have a feeling that it works simply because it makes us feel like kids again.
So why don’t we show our true colours and dig out those crayons to reveal the big kid inside all of us. Silver lining, you might just feel a little more chilled out in the process.