10 Stress Relieving Adult Coloring Books

Forget about the common misconception that coloring books are only for children. In today's hectic world, with time increasingly being spent in front of our screens, more and more adults are turning to coloring, which is such a soothing art. But the books that we are discussing do not resemble the free coloring sheets that chain restaurants handed out when you were a child. These books are intricately designed, with some specifically created to help you focus your mind and de-stress.

But does it work? If you carefully color in between the lines, will you experience relief? These books were selected for the quality of their paper and illustrations, their creativity, and how effectively they help to keep you in a stress-free, focused, and calm zone.

1The Creative Colouring Book For Grown-Ups

A pocket-sized coloring book to color on the go! With its flexible spine, which is unlike many of the chunkier, larger books, you can get directly to the center so that no patches are left uncolored. This book has 100 detailed patterns for you to get lost in.

2Enchanted Forest: An Inky Adventure

It is a follow-up to the hugely successful Secret Garden by Johanna Basford (with more than one million copies sold to date), and for your hard-earned money, it is even better than the first book she created. It features highly-detailed drawings of greenery and woodland creatures on high-quality paper, meaning your pens will not bleed through. The imaginative, lovely illustrations are the show's big stars here. However, some coloring fans will love the quest part that is locating nine symbols that are hidden throughout the coloring book to "unlock" the castle's gate in the end. If you love this book, her next creation is due out in October and is an ocean-themed book.

3Cats: 70 Designs To Help You De-Stress

What could be more relaxing than coloring a bunch of cats? This coloring book highlights 70 feline-inspired, intricate designs for you to fill in. It is a bit larger than A5, so you need to be prepared to do some delicately detailed coloring. The book comes with detachable sheets, so after you are finished with your chic kitty design, you'll be able to take it out and proudly display it.

4The Mindfulness Colouring Book

The little book by Emma Farraron is a convenient pocket-sized book that you can toss into your work bag for your long commute to your job. Emma Farrarons is a French illustrator based in London who has a textile design background. Some of her drawings show an influence from fabric patterns repeated throughout, ranging from basic simple tessellating geometric designs all the way up to more floral-inspired shapes and intricate waves. Her most recent book is due out in September and features more nature-themed patterns.

5Dream Cities

Inspired by Paris, Moscow, and London, the illustrator's home, the book displays some parts of the world that you partly recognize and others that are more fantastical cityscapes for you to color and make into your very own creations. This book is made out of heavy-duty paper, and that means your pens will not bleed through. Also, Alice Chadwick and Rosie Goodwin, East London-based designers, have contributed a small treasure hunt made up of extra images inside the highly detailed illustrations that you can have fun discovering.

6The Animal Kingdom

The (Animal Kingdom) by Millie Marotta has sold more than 500,000 copies to date and has been translated into a total of 19 languages. What is appealing about her work is all of the intricate drawings that can immerse you inside the world created by her. When it comes to the new book, there are tons of pages of exotic creatures ranging from plant life to parrots. The paper is the highest quality, and the artwork is truly exceptional; also, there is plenty of space for adding in your details when you are feeling especially creative.

7Field Guide: Creatures Great And Small

Technically, this Lucy Engelman coloring book is a field guide as well. The 35 pages worth of animals - which range from bears to butterflies - provide you with facts about all of the creatures that are featured, along with a coloring guide that lets you know what they look like out in the real world. You can, of course, choose to freestyle if you'd like. This book's pages can be torn out, so after you are finished, you can display all of your amazing artwork.

8The Time Garden By Daria Song

The Time Garden is an ideal book if patterns are too repetitive for you. The book features a story that is drawn by Daria Song, a Korean artist, that begins with a cuckoo clock that feels straight out of Narnia and moves through page after page of magical landscapes, all drawn in intricate detail. The cover of the book can be colored as well, and there is a to/from page also, which makes it a great gift.

9Fill-Me-In By Moose Allain

Fill-Me-In is described as being not only a book but instead a paper playground and offers a nice change from many of the pattern-focused, more elaborate coloring books. Fill-Me-In was created by Moose Allain, a cartoonist and an artist, and it starts in space but then flies around over the irregular galaxy and features little creatures and people in all kinds of different scenes that need to be finished or colored in. As a bonus, the creator has doodled in the book himself and signed it.

10Animorphia By Kerby Rosanes

Animorphia goes a step beyond mere coloring and also includes a search element. At the start of the book, you are given a key; it is full of weird creatures and small objects to find with the animal-themed illustrations, ranging from big cats to swordfish. There is extra space as well for you to use your doodlings to complete pictures.

Since 2005, the Journal of American Art Therapy Association has published various studies that have shown that guided coloring may be an effective way to reduce stress and anxiety. If you are searching for a new way to de-stress apart from going on long walks, taking relaxing baths, or doing yoga, one of the 10 books above might be just what you have been searching for. Check them out and enjoy your coloring!