Sketching is an easy brain-boosting exercise that anyone can do.
Did you know that sketching is good for your brain? You don’t have to take classes, you don’t need any special tools, you don’t even need lots of time! All you need to have is a pencil, paper and a desire to sketch on a regular basis.
The website ‘The Healing Power of Art & Artists’ shares in an article by Renee Phillips that “It has an impact on brain wave patterns and emotions, the nervous system, and can actually raise serotonin levels. Art can change a person’s outlook and the way they experience the world.”
The benefits that link the act of sketching to our improved mental health are undeniable. The benefits range from improved memory and reduced stress to improved concentration and strengthening our resilience.
Our mental state noticeably improves every time we quiet our minds enough to sketch. Our brain slows down into a naturally meditative state when we allow ourselves time to quietly observe, contemplate, and create.
When we make time to sketch and open our minds to the endless possibilities of inspiration we enable ourselves a moment of respite and eventually reach a state of flow.
Kendra Cherry shares in her article for Very Well Mind that “According to the psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, “Flow” is defined as a state of complete immersion in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away, and time flies. Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost.”
Nine Reasons Why Sketching is Good for Your Brain
I know first hand that sketching helps us to improve our minds and our moods one drawing at a time. The act of sketching keeps our minds busy in a positive way.
1. Sketching helps the mind to concentrate on a single task for an extended period.
Drawing improves memory skills. Engaging oneself in sketching can boost recalling capacity as it sharpens the mind by imagination and thinking.
2. Making time for a sketch each day keeps anxieties from creeping up and overwhelming us in our busy lives.
You may enjoy reading my post Reducing Stress with Art: How to release stress one drawing at a time.
3. Sketching daily encourages our minds to learn something new.
Human nature is to be evolving not to stay still. Our brain seeks activity to keep it distracted. However, if not careful, the mind may easily pick a habit which is frivolous and or harmful, leading us into addiction and anxiety.
4. Sketching improves overall holistic health and a sense of accomplishment because it builds self-esteem and self-confidence as you become better and better.
Regular sketching creates a sense of achievement and pride.
5. Urban sketching (sketching in public) is the best way to discover new subject matter to draw.
Most people at first are scared of opening up their sketchbook in general, but the more your confidence develops, the more it feels perfectly comfortable sketching in public.
If you’re just starting out as an artist, you may appreciate my post Sketching 101: 5 easy sketching tips to improve your skills.
6. Sketching allows us to be more social and have the confidence to talk with people.
If you become an avid urban sketcher you’ll discover that it is an excellent way to interact with strangers and for people to engage with you by asking questions about the sketch your doing. You may just make a few new friends along that way!
7. Sketching for the sake of problem-solving is an easy and effective method to begin looking deep into the angles, shapes, and proportions of the items to be drawn.
8. Sketching your ideas, rather than using words, is a great way to organize and comprehend large amounts of data that our brain may not be able to process all at once.
9. Sketching allows us to unplug from our digital devices and more deeply connect to our surroundings.
In today’s world, it is so easy to become distracted and these devices are designed to stimulate our brains and keep us hooked by temporarily releasing dopamine, which is a feel-good hormone.
It is easy for us to get sucked into spending too much time on our digital devices and lose touch with our surroundings. Unfortunately, too much screen time robs us of our focus which could be used to feed our dreams and grow our brains.
I encourage you to regularly make time to sketch.
When you sketch every day, you will improve your brain health by building new connections and pathways. In other words, sketching is good for your brain because both sides of the brain actively participate. For example, the left side of your brain, which is responsible for logical thinking and the right side of your brain which supplies your creativity work together.
My mobile drawing kit is compact and travels easily in my handbag. These notebooks from the Rifle Paper Co. are flexible, a reasonable size and the paper holds watercolor well enough.
Are you still on the fence about sketching? Fix yourself a cup of coffee or tea and read why I think you should sketch every day.
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