Wise Ancients have always known this, and now current research reveals the ways that art making can offer us so many healing pathways, Girija Kaimal, EdD, MA, assistant professor at Drexel University states that employee burnout is a significant problem across all industries. She goes on to state that the act of making art—including doodling—stimulates the senses and engages different areas of the brain and can in fact reduce stress.
“Giving employees the opportunity to safely and creatively express themselves has tremendous physiological and psychological benefits ”.
Her recent study included 39 adults, from 18 to 59 years old, who were invited to participate in 45 minutes of art making, cortisol levels were taken before and after. The researchers found that 75 percent of the participants’ cortisol levels lowered during their 45 minutes of making art.
With that in mind, Kaimal has gone on to suggest that employers could help their workers by keeping a small activity nearby that can be used throughout the day, such as knitting, woodworking, or having a small notebook on hand for doodling, this can improve concentration and relieve stress.
Imagine that !
All of the workshops I have created over the years focus on ways that art making can offer pathways to emotional health, well-being and creative self-care. Many offer opportunities for the kind of mindful art practices that do lead towards stress reduction and self regulation which in turn can lead to reduced anxiety. For example :
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