Benefits of Painting in Improving Cognitive Growth

” Painting is the passage from the chaos of the emotions to the order of the possible. ” – Balthus 

During the initial years of our lives, we take care of our health and try to keep our brains sharp. But, it is equally important to take care of your cognitive ability and health as you grow mature with time. With time, we also find out different means to keep our children’s mind and body to be healthy. To keep our bodies healthy, we indulge in physical exercises. On the other hand, to keep our minds healthy, we need to indulge in some creative work such as painting. The painting will also enable our brain to think in different perspectives. Painting is an enjoyable hobby that improves your intellect and provides numerous other health benefits.

Here is the list of some benefits of painting in improving cognitive ability and overall physical health for us-

1. Painting Improves Creativity

As per science, the right side of the brain controls major operations for left-handed people. On the other hand, the left side of the brain dominates right-handed people. It is said that right-brain dominant people are more creative, and left brain dominant people are more analytical. Painting helps improve creativity and cognitive ability for both sets of people. Practice and concentration, two skills intrinsic in left-brain people, enable these people to develop artistic skills at their own rate.

2. Painting Improves Memory

Painting improves memory retrieval capabilities, and with logical imagination and execution, it helps to sharpen the mind. Individuals who often use artistic activities like writing poetry, painting, and drawing are less likely to experience memory-loss problems as they age.

The painting thus provides the ability for people to express their thoughts and desires without words. Often it can be quite difficult for some individuals to share their thoughts & feelings. Still, painting is a perfect way to capture inner feelings. Those who paint use painting to conquer shyness and to express their personalities. Painting has helped many individuals in the past to let go of their shyness and social awkwardness and improved their social skills.

3. Painting Nurtures Emotional Growth

Painting is an excellent medium for many artists to express their feelings and thoughts. Painting helps people to be aware of their emotional state and help discover new emotions that they do not even realize that they possess. To certain people expressing feelings by painting is a comforting and therapeutic process. Nonetheless, many clinicians recommend painting or drawing as a therapy for people who have recovered from traumatic interpersonal experiences. Letting out emotions through art facilitates relaxation through an abstract representation of the feelings.

The ones who paint report an improvement in their degree of emotional intelligence. Allowing the feelings to surface in art lets you understand your own emotional condition and identify what leads to your changing degrees of mood and tension. Painters have the potential to bring joy to others and to share their good perspective with people.

4. Painting Improves Critical Thinking & Motor skills

Some people believe that painting simply strengthens artistic talents, but it also encourages critical thinking. An artist needs to think critically and put together different views of life, to develop a good painting. The painting also helps a person to think outside the box. Owing to color constraints or unpredictable results that arise during the creative execution of a painting, what the artist imagines when beginning a painting sometimes varies dramatically during the painting process. Thus, producing a good painting irrespective of these challenges inculcates a critical thinking and problem-solving attitude in a painter.

Additionally, motor skills develop when a person takes up painting as a hobby. Handling a paintbrush skilfully increases the dexterity of hands and fingers. The excellent motor skills learned by a painter gradually become cognitive shortcut which the brain applies in daily life.

5. Painting Acts As A Stress-Reliever

Stress is a thing that everyone struggles with, to some extent, during all periods of life. High-stress levels and anxiety lead to issues regarding mental wellbeing. For people dealing with depression or experiencing a difficult moment in their life, painting and other creative activities provide an emotional relief or outlet.

When a person paints, he or she creates something beautiful, and thus, it encourages artistic spirit along with relieving mental stress. The release of stress and anxiety in the process of painting allows a person to unwind and relieve all the stresses that torment the mind. It’s no wonder that reduced levels of stress contribute to a happy and safe lifestyle.

All these benefits of painting help you to improve your mental abilities and emotional intelligence, which, in turn, keeps you stress-free. Therefore, you feel more contented and develop a positive outlook on life. This indirectly has a positive effect on your overall physical health as well. These numerous benefits of painting have made it the most adopted and loved hobby of all time.