Find your brain recovery style. Inspired by neuroscience and modern well-being.
Why Bold & Easy Coloring Books Feel More Relaxing Than Mandalas
What if the most calming coloring books aren’t the most complicated ones.
Research on attention, cognitive load, and creativity suggests that when the brain is already overwhelmed, simplicity may be exactly what it needs.
SLOW LIVING · WELL-BEING
—
Words Whitney Vence
Researcher in neuroscience and well-being, exploring rituals, aesthetics, and mindful living.
—
My first adult coloring book was supposed to help me relax. Instead, it handed me approximately four thousand tiny decisions and what felt like a part-time job.
Every flower contained seventeen microscopic sections. Every leaf required a strategic color plan. At one point, I spent three full minutes deciding between sage green and slightly different sage green.
This, apparently, was self-care. The strange thing was that I genuinely wanted it to work. People kept describing coloring as calming, meditative, almost magical. Meanwhile, I was treating a mandala like a quarterly business report.
A few months later, I stumbled across a completely different style of coloring book. Large illustrations. Bold outlines. Simple shapes. No visual obstacle course. No tiny details demanding perfection.
The difference was immediate. My shoulders relaxed. My breathing slowed. And for the first time, my brain stopped acting like an over-caffeinated project manager trying to optimize every square inch of paper.
Naturally, I became curious. Was this simply personal preference? Or was something happening inside the brain itself?
As it turns out, not all coloring books ask the same things from our attention. And when your brain is already carrying the equivalent of forty open browser tabs, that difference matters more than you might think.
My First Adult Coloring Book Was A Disaster
Why Some Coloring Books Feel Surprisingly Exhausting
Coloring is often recommended as a stress-relief activity. The idea sounds wonderfully simple. Sit down. Choose a few colors. Relax.
Yet many people experience something unexpected. Instead of feeling calmer, they feel slightly overwhelmed.
The page is crowded. The details are endless. The decisions never seem to stop. What color should this be? Should it match? Did I miss a tiny section? The activity that promised peace quietly turns into another task.
The reason may have less to do with coloring itself and more to do with how much attention the page demands.
The Brain Has a Limited Attention Budget
Throughout the day, the brain is already busy. Emails. Messages. Schedules. Tasks. Notifications. Tiny decisions stacked on top of other tiny decisions.
Researchers refer to this as cognitive load — the amount of mental effort required to process information. When cognitive load becomes too high, even enjoyable activities can begin to feel draining.
For some people, a highly detailed coloring page provides focus and enjoyment. For an already overloaded mind, however, it may simply become one more thing requiring concentration.
The brain stays engaged. The nervous system stays alert. Recovery becomes harder.
Why Mandalas Feel Different
There is a reason mandalas became enormously popular. Research suggests structured geometric patterns can help narrow attention and temporarily reduce anxious thinking. Many people genuinely find them calming.
But mandalas often require: precision, concentration, sustained attention, visual processing, fine motor control.
In other words, they work partly because they demand focus. That makes them excellent attention-directing tools.
But focusing attention is not always the same thing as calming the nervous system. Sometimes the brain needs less structure. Not more.
Why Simplicity Can Feel So Restorative
When visual complexity decreases, something interesting happens. The brain processes information more easily. There are fewer choices. Fewer details. Less visual clutter.
Psychologists sometimes describe this as a reduction in cognitive demand. The activity still occupies attention. But it no longer competes for it.
Color. Move. Repeat. Color. Move. Repeat. The rhythm itself becomes soothing.
And for many people, especially after a mentally demanding day, that rhythm feels restorative rather than effortful.
The Picture Matters Too
There is another factor people rarely discuss. The image itself matters. A cozy Paris café. A sleepy dog. A quiet library. A beautiful garden. A warm kitchen.
The brain does not respond only to the act of coloring. It also responds to what it is looking at. Research in environmental psychology suggests that pleasant visual environments can influence mood and emotional state.
In other words, a comforting illustration may already be helping before the first marker touches the page. This may explain why people are increasingly drawn toward cozy, lifestyle-inspired coloring books rather than purely abstract patterns.
Sometimes the brain wants beauty. Not geometry.
Flow Without Pressure
Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi famously described flow as a state where attention becomes fully absorbed in an activity.
But flow requires balance. Too difficult? Frustration appears. Too easy? Boredom appears. The sweet spot lives somewhere in the middle.
For many stressed minds, Bold & Easy illustrations often sit surprisingly close to that sweet spot.
Enough engagement to hold attention. Not enough complexity to create pressure. The result is a softer kind of flow. Gentle. Accessible. Restorative.
Why 15 Minutes Is Often Enough
One of the biggest myths about recovery is that it requires huge amounts of time. Research on attention restoration suggests otherwise.
The nervous system often responds remarkably well to short recovery periods. Fifteen minutes. Twenty minutes.
Sometimes that’s enough to interrupt a stress cycle. Enough to reduce mental noise. Enough to remind the brain that not everything requires effort. There is another benefit. Most modern tasks never end. Emails continue. Messages continue. Work continues.
A coloring page offers something increasingly rare: A beginning. A middle. And an end. The brain loves completion. Completion often feels calming.
A Small Experiment
Tonight, try something. Put your phone in another room. Make a cup of tea. Set a timer for fifteen minutes. Then color a page that doesn’t ask much from you.
No perfection. No optimization. No masterpiece required. Just color.
If your shoulders drop a little lower and your thoughts become a little quieter, you’ll know exactly what this article was about.
From My Journal
Interestingly, recent research suggests that coloring activities may support mindfulness and flow regardless of design complexity.
In other words, mandalas are not “bad” for the brain. For many people they can be deeply enjoyable and beneficial. The more interesting question may not be which coloring book is universally better.
It may be: Which coloring book feels right for your brain today?
For years, I assumed relaxation meant finding the most sophisticated solution. The most optimized routine. The most impressive habit. The most productive form of self-care. What I’ve learned instead is that the nervous system often prefers simplicity.
Lately, my favorite evening ritual involves tea, markers, and a coloring page featuring a sleepy dog, a cozy café, or a Parisian street.
Nothing revolutionary. No biohacking required. Just twenty quiet minutes where nobody expects anything from me.
And honestly? That may be the most luxurious thing of all.
For a Quieter Mind
If you enjoy gentle creative rituals, you might like the Bold & Easy: For a Quiet Mind coloring books. Created for moments when the brain needs less stimulation, not more.
Large illustrations. Comforting scenes. Simple shapes. And just enough structure to help attention settle.
You can also take the:
→ How Does Your Brain Restore Itself? Assessment
Because not every mind recovers the same way.
And not every coloring book creates the same experience.
📚 References & Inspiration
Curry, N.A. & Kasser, T. (2005). Can Coloring Mandalas Reduce Anxiety? Art Therapy, 22(2), 81–85.
Van der Vennet, R. & Serice, S. (2012). Can Coloring Mandalas Reduce Anxiety? A Replication Study. Art Therapy, 29(2), 87–92.
Kaplan, S. (1995). The Restorative Benefits of Nature: Toward an Integrative Framework. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 15(3), 169–182.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper & Row.
Flett, J.A.M., Lie, C., Riordan, B.C., Thompson, L.M., Conner, T.S., & Hayne, H. (2017). Sharpen Your Pencils: Preliminary Evidence that Adult Coloring Reduces Depressive Symptoms and Anxiety.
Kaimal, G., Ray, K., & Muniz, J. (2016). Reduction of Cortisol Levels and Participants’ Responses Following Art Making. Art Therapy, 33(2), 74–80.
Sweller, J. (1988). Cognitive Load During Problem Solving: Effects on Learning. Cognitive Science, 12(2), 257–285.
Mantzios, M. et al. (2023). Mindfulness, Flow, and Coloring Books: Examining Psychological Benefits of Coloring Activities.
Further Reading
Art Making and Cortisol Reduction (PubMed Central) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5004743/
Coloring Activities and Anxiety Reduction (PubMed Central) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6996682/
When Did Coloring Books Become Mindful? (PubMed Central) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5797627/
Mandala Art and Psychological Well-Being (PubMed Central) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10801676/
Digital Mandala Coloring, Flow, and Anxiety Reduction (PubMed Central) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13099304/
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi) https://www.amazon.com/Flow-Psychology-Experience-Perennial-Classics/dp/0061339202
Attention Restoration Theory (Kaplan)
Malkiele Notes
Malkiele articles combine peer-reviewed research, neuroscience, psychology, behavioral science, and real-world observations.
Whenever possible, original scientific sources are linked directly for readers who enjoy going down the rabbit hole.
Research evolves. Human beings are wonderfully complicated. And sometimes what helps one mind recover may not help another.
That is why we believe science is most useful when it meets real life. Not in a laboratory alone.
But in a quiet café, a park bench, a journal, a coloring book, or fifteen uninterrupted minutes that help the brain exhale.
⚠️ Disclaimer
This content is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical, psychological, or professional advice.
Malkiele does not provide healthcare services. Any references to mental well-being, stress reduction, or neurological effects are based on publicly available research and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any condition.
Always consult a qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical or mental health concerns.
By using this website, you acknowledge that you are responsible for your own well-being and decisions.
Quiet Questions
Not at all. The goal isn’t to create a masterpiece. It’s simply to give your attention somewhere gentle to rest for a while.
Research on restorative activities suggests even short periods of focused, enjoyable creativity can help reduce mental fatigue. Fifteen or twenty minutes is often enough to notice a shift.
Not necessarily.
Some people enjoy highly intricate designs.
Others find simpler illustrations significantly more relaxing because they reduce visual overload rather than adding to it.
Not exactly.
But many people describe coloring as a mindful activity because attention naturally settles on colors, shapes, and small creative decisions.
Warm interiors, friendly characters, soft lighting, beautiful places, and familiar everyday rituals create an atmosphere the brain often interprets as safe and comforting.
That emotional setting can become part of the experience—not just the coloring itself.
If you’re curious, start with Malkiele’s three free Cozy Companions pages.
They’re designed as a gentle introduction to our signature cozy style—beautiful places, charming companions, and peaceful moments that invite your attention to slow down.
