How to reduce stress and increase focus with this one surprising tip!
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My daughter is really artistic – where she got that gift or gene from I have no idea.
It certainly doesn’t come from me!
As any parent of a teen will know, keeping the lines of communication open is vital in maintaining and developing your relationship during turbulent years.
One of the best ways to maintain the integrity of your relationship is to find ways to spend quality time together.
But that’s not always easy.
As a teen I just didn’t WANT to be anywhere near my parents. I’d come in from school and skulk off to my bedroom, treading each step like I was an elephant, clearly sending out a ‘Don’t bother talking to me!’ message as I went.
Fortunately that’s another gene my daughter hasn’t got too much of.
She WANTS us to spend time together but in all honesty we’re not really interested in the same things any more.
But art IS one of them, despite my lack of gift.
This was solved by discovering there are actually colouring books for grown ups!
And even some of the ones for older children are challenging enough for me. So I now have my own colouring books and set of pencils.
Every so often I’ll spend a happy couple of hours colouring in while my daughter sits with me creating her latest masterpiece.
So imagine how thrilled I was to discover that colouring in is good for you!
Apparently the sales of colouring in books exceeds cookery books in France!
And it’s been shown that colouring in reduces stress, increases focus and promotes a relaxed sense of wellbeing.
A study in the Journal of Occupational and Organisational Psychology found that creative pursuits like colouring not only help people handle stress better but also boost their work performance.
What excites me even more is that colouring plugs you into the moment, so is a very natural and easy form of mindfulness. As someone who struggles to meditate this is wonderful news!
So all in all, colouring in has multiple benefits – it helps me relax and de-stress while spending quality time with my daughter.
What about you – are you artistic? Do you give time to nurture your artistic side?
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