Under Stress? A Science-Backed Argument For Making Art

by #LizPublika

It's 2 AM and you're lying in bed. You should be sleeping. Instead, you're mentally rehearsing tomorrow's presentation, rehashing the day's news, and having a panic attack about the future, all the while your heart pounds like you're being chased by a bear. Beads of sweat are forming at the temples.

Home work station | via Pexels

What if I told you that a little downtime with some colored pencils could literally rewire your brain's stress response? No apps, no expensive therapy — just you making something with your hands. Sounds like wellness nonsense?

It's a science-backed argument for making art.

The Basics

When you make art, your brain releases feel-good chemicals like dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin, lighting up the same pleasure centers that activate when you eat chocolate or get a hug.

A study in Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association found that 75% of people saw their stress hormone cortisol drop after just 45 minutes of art-making. Skill level? Didn't matter. Whether you painted like Monet or drew stick figures that looked like they survived a blender, your stress hormones couldn't tell the difference.

The Doodle Revolution

Remember that meeting when you filled your notebook's margins with doodles? Turns out you were unconsciously doing some brain hacking.

Research in The Arts in Psychotherapy used brain imaging to watch people color, doodle, and draw. All three activities fired up the brain's reward center, but doodling was the overachiever. In other words, your absent-minded scribbles were actually sophisticated stress interventions.

Meanwhile, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience revealed that art-making rewires your emotional regulation system. These weren't just temporary feel-good moments — people showed lasting improvements in bouncing back from future stress.

Get Creative with Whatever You've Got

Kurt Vonnegut called it: "To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it."

Art doesn't discriminate. There's no talent required, no fancy supplies needed. You can get creative with whatever is around you. But here are some ideas to get you started:

• Coffee and water make gorgeous watercolors

• Sidewalk chalk works on paper too

• Old magazines are collage gold

• Your phone's drawing app counts

• Even arranging your lunch creatively engages the same brain circuits

Final Thoughts

Your brain chemistry doesn't have an art critic — it just knows you're creating and rewards you accordingly. Whether you are 8 or 80, working with expensive paints or coffee shop napkins, your nervous system responds the same way: with relief and resilience.

So, next time anxiety crashes the party, grab whatever's handy. Color outside the lines. Doodle during Zoom calls. And remember, what you may regard as mistakes are just explorative detours and exercises for your imagination.

The science is clear: There's no wrong way to start — so start. Your cortisol will thank you, your brain will rewire itself, and your soul will remember how to breathe.

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