Doodling and Its Health Effects

Doodling - a way to let your creativity come out!

A doodle is a drawing made while a person's attention is otherwise occupied. Doodles are simple drawings that can have concrete representational meaning or may just be composed of random and abstract lines, generally without ever lifting the drawing device off of the paper, in which case it is usually called a "scribble".

Doodling and scribbling are most often associated with young children and toddlers, because their lack of hand–eye coordination and lower mental development. This often makes it very difficult for any young child to keep their colouring attempts within the line art of the subject. Despite this, it is not uncommon to see such behaviour with adults, in which case it generally is done jovially, out of boredom.

Typical examples of doodling are found in school notebooks, often in the margins, drawn by students daydreaming or losing interest during class. Other common examples of doodling are produced during long telephone conversations if a pen and paper are available.

Popular kinds of doodles include cartoon versions of teachers or companions in a school, famous TV or comic characters, invented fictional beings, landscapes, geometric shapes, patterns and textures.

Its Health Effects –

According to a study published in the scientific journal Applied Cognitive Psychology, doodling can aid a person's memory by expending just enough energy to keep one from daydreaming, which demands a lot of the brain's processing power, as well as from not paying attention. Thus, it acts as a mediator between the spectrum of thinking too much or thinking too little and helps focus on the current situation. The study was done by the School of Psychology, reported that doodlers in her experiment recalled 7.5 pieces of information (out of 16 total) on average, 29% more than the average of 5.8 recalled by the control group made of non-doodlers.

 

Zendoodles and Zentangles

Zendoodling is the art of drawing designs using structured patterns or 'Zentangles’.

When you draw a Zendoodle, you’re creating a work of art, but you’re also deliberately creating a mood, focus, and state of mind.

Concentrate on drawing small blocks of patterns at a time; going with the flow lets your mind get into a calming zen state. This allows you to follow through on impulsive thoughts, so your doodle won’t be restricted by expectations, giving you an unexpected final design and a glimpse into your subconscious!

Benefits of Zendoodling

·         Is Intuitive

·         Is Fun

·         Relaxes

·         Leads to inspiration

·         Teaches patience
         Inspires creativity