You might have heard some of the benefits art has on your life, like relieving stress, and anxiety, alleviating depression and dementia etc. But what if doing art on a regular basis could actually make you smarter. What to do if you have no skills? Well, here is a painting by number from where you can buy paint by numbersand diamond DIY art to make your own professional paintings. Following are the top five ways art makes you smarter and sharper:
1- Art boosts Mental Focus
According to research, our brains get 60,000 thoughts per day, and 95% of them are repetitive. This information load gets most people to lose focus and problems like ADHD (Attention Deficit Hypersensitivity Disorder) arise.
When the brain is indulged in a creative pursuit like painting, or drawing, it has to shift its focus away from those repetitive thoughts and focus on the task at hand. This makes the brain get in the alpha brainwave state, the brain frequency which makes us concentrate. Doing such activities on a consistent basis helps the brain to develop the “habit” of getting into this focused state quickly, even at will if needed. It also helps increase the attention span. Painting Kits they call paint by numbers for adults are a good start if you have no skills in painting.
2- Neural Processing, Hand-Eye Coordination, and Problem Solving Skills
According to Aristotle, art makes use of all ten functions of the eye, including color, shape, location, distance, closeness, lightness, darkness, shape, form and object. It makes the brain pay more attention to details in order to process all the visual cues and put them on the canvas. This uses your motor skills, involving hand-eye coordination. According to a study, brain scans of 44 artists showed that the parts of the brain associated with procedural memory, and fine motor performance were strongly developed in them.
Also, art is considered one of the best “Neurobic” exercises, a term coined by Dr. Lawrence Katz, an internationally renowned neuroscientist and author. Neurobics refer to activities, like art, that allow our brain to process information in novel ways.
3- Art improves Analytical Abilities
Art allows your brain to think freely, and comprehend ideas, and objects in ways that you might not have thought of before. This new way of perceiving ideas, and creating meaning in abstract thinking allows our brain to build new connections to already established neural pathways, making our analytical abilities stronger. This can add to the reasoning and brainstorming skills as well.
4- Art increases Dopamine levels and Productivity
When you finish your artwork, it gives your brain a sense of accomplishment, and the reward centers of your brain light up, which increases the dopamine level, a neurotransmitter also known as the “motivation molecule”. This gets you in the flow state of “achievement”, making you more goal oriented. Dopamine also stimulates neurogenesis which is the formation of new brain cells, thus making us more receptive to learning new things.
5- Art enhances Neuroplasticity and Fluid Intelligence
When we are making a new painting, and trying to figure out what shades or colors to use, and how to put our ideas on the canvas, our brain makesnew neural connections along the process. This ability to form new nerve pathways is called “Neuroplasticity”, which helps acquire new skills or talents.
This new way of creating ideas from abstract thoughts in the form of art also enhances our fluid intelligence, the form of intelligence involved in identifying patterns and using logic to explain novel situations that cannot be explained through past experience andprior knowledge.