Whether you are an art prodigy, a casual doodler, or the last picked for teams on Pictionary night, making art benefits your brain. Research shows that creativity is a vital part of a healthy lifestyle.
So what does getting creative actually accomplish?
Stress Less
Making art has been shown to reduce cortisol levels, which is a hormone that helps the body respond to stress, demonstrating that making art physiologically lowers the experience of stress in the body. Less stress may mean lowering your risk for countless chronic diseases as well.
This is true whether or not you think of yourself as an artist and regardless of skill level.
Get in the Flow
You know that feeling when you are so deeply present with something that you lose track of all space and time? These are the moments when your body or mind is fully engaged to accomplish something challenging and truly worthwhile.
Creating art allows people to enter those flow states, which can activate networks in the brain that induce reflection, focus, and pleasure. Flow also raises intrinsic motivation, enhances emotion regulation, gives greater clarity, and generates feelings of fulfillment and even ecstasy.
Express Yourself
When we create something visual, we access a different part of the brain than we do if we write or talk about that same feeling, memory, or situation. If you are having difficulty talking about what is bothering you, try expressing your emotions through colors, shapes, textures, and lines. This can be profoundly cathartic, foster self-understanding, as well as improve your ability to communicate and connect with others.
Feel Good
One study showed that coloring, doodling, and drawing increased blood flow to pleasure centers by nearly 10%. Another showed that simply looking at art participants found beautiful created the same effect. That is similar to the effect of looking at someone you love.
Creating art also activates the reward centers in the brain and raises serotonin levels, which are responsible for happy feelings.
Hope for the Future
Art allows us to tap into our imagination. It is play, and play helps us learn. Think about a kid pretending to be a doctor or astronaut, or teacher. What are they doing? They embody who they could be in the future and generate solutions to problems they see in the world. Art is one-way adults can tap into that same sense of wonder and possibility.
Through making decisions and interpreting meaning, creating art helps us imagine a better future and see beyond the present difficulty.
Getting Started
Now that you know all the benefits, it’s time to get started. And, remember, it’s okay not to know what you are doing. The point is not to be the next Van Gogh, profit from your work, or even show anyone else at all. The point is simply to create something and feel good!
Start simple. Doodle in the margins of your notebook. Try out watercolors on a blank canvas. Feel some modeling clay squish between your fingers. Find your kids’ coloring book and some colored pencils. Make a vision board. Whatever you do, try to be present with your emotions and the process of creating.
Let us know what you made in the comments!
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