Does Coloring Reduce Stress and Anxiety? What the Research Shows

The short answer

Coloring can ease feelings of anxiety for a short time, at least in the groups researchers have tested: students, young women and older adults. It is not a proven therapy, and the popular idea that mandalas are uniquely calming does not hold up well once studies are pooled. The fair summary: coloring is a pleasant, low-cost activity with small, short-lived benefits for some people.

The key studies at a glance

Curry and Kasser, 2005

After a brief anxiety induction, 84 undergraduates were randomly assigned to color a mandala, color a plaid form, or color on blank paper. Anxiety declined about the same in the mandala and plaid groups, and both declined more than in the unstructured group (study record). Structure seemed to help, but the mandala shape itself did not beat a simple plaid.

Flett and colleagues, 2017

This University of Otago study, published as “Sharpen Your Pencils: Preliminary Evidence that Adult Coloring Reduces Depressive Symptoms and Anxiety,” compared one week of daily coloring with logic puzzles. Artnet reports that the team gave 115 young women either a coloring book or a book of puzzles, and that coloring reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety to a small, short-term degree. Note the authors' own word: preliminary.

Older adults in Taiwan, 2020

This randomized controlled trial concluded that short-term mandala coloring could significantly alleviate self-induced anxiety in community-dwelling older adults, and no adverse events were noted (full text on PubMed Central). Healthline's summary describes 120 participants, with 20 minutes of mandala coloring relieving anxiety significantly more than plaid pattern coloring, free drawing and reading. It is one of the stronger results for mandalas, but it measured a 20-minute session, not long-term mental health.

The meta-analysis

A systematic review and meta-analysis in Art Therapy pooled the research on mandala coloring and state anxiety. Its conclusion: mandala coloring does not reduce state anxiety significantly more than free drawing does. It also found limited empirical evidence on mandala coloring and mindfulness, and noted that newer and larger studies have effect estimates closer to zero.

Using the evidence in your own coloring

1. Pick a design you enjoyPlaid matched mandalas in one study, and free drawing matched them in the pooled analysis. Choose what you like.
2. Keep sessions short and regularThe older-adult trial used 20 minutes; the 2017 study used daily coloring for a week.
3. Keep expectations modestThe measured effects were small and short-term. Treat coloring as a break, not a fix.
4. Get help for lasting symptomsIf anxiety or low mood persists or gets in the way of daily life, talk to a doctor or a licensed mental health professional.

Older adults and dementia: be careful with claims

Coloring can be a calm, shared activity for older adults and the people who care for them. A caregiving retailer, AlzStore, notes that in older adults with memory or physical impairments, boredom can contribute to anxiety, depression or challenging behavior in someone with Alzheimer's or dementia.

The home-care provider SYNERGY HomeCare says coloring will not cure or prevent disease, but as a regular activity it can ease anxiety, lift mood and create shared time with family or a caregiver. It also states that claims that coloring prevents cognitive decline or dementia are not well supported. Both are commercial sources, yet on this point they are more cautious than much of the marketing you will see.

What coloring is not

• Not a treatment. The studies measured short-term feelings after one session or one week.
• Not shown to prevent dementia or cognitive decline.
• Not proven to build mindfulness; the meta-analysis found limited evidence.
• Not uniquely calming in mandala form. Plaid matched mandalas in 2005, and the meta-analysis found no significant advantage over free drawing.

Trials still under way

Two registered clinical trials are testing mandala coloring around pregnancy: one for postpartum anxiety and depression (NCT07312812) and one for stress and anxiety in high-risk pregnancy (NCT07726186). We list them to show the research is active. We report no results from them; check the registry pages for their current status.

How we read these studies

We link to primary sources wherever we found them: journal records, PubMed Central and ClinicalTrials.gov. Where a detail such as a sample size comes from a news or health site, we name that site. Writing listings or ads about coloring? Our selling guide shows how to keep claims honest.