Why I've Shifted To End My Day With Art-Making
One evening a few weeks ago, after shifting my attention away from nightly news clips, I found it difficult to settle down – not to mention fall asleep. I felt overwhelmed at every level and most notably I could feel that my nervous system had been destabilized. It was as if the seat where I sat and the ground itself had become an insane rollercoaster. Can you imagine settling in for a peaceful sleep after that?
Well, initially that’s what I attempted to do. The first night I tossed and turned for more than an hour before going into my art studio. After turning on the lights, I pulled out a sheet of rice paper, gathered my gouache paints, water and some brushes. Then I asked myself – How do I feel in a color or a word?
I started to cover one side using a wide brush to throw down thick globs of paint spread from corner to corner. Then with a smaller brush I changed color to make lines filling in some blank spaces. I continued making marks and putting colors on the page until I felt at peace or that harmony flowed from the new creation. Then I dumped my paint water, cleaned my brushes and had a good night’s sleep for the first time in awhile. The contrast was clear and so once again, I adapted my practice to meet the moment I was facing in my life. Keep reading to understand how and why this works.
Neurobiological Mechanisms: What’s Happening in Your Brain
- Neuroplasticity Activation: Creative activities FrontiersNih like painting result in neuroplastic changes in organization, activity, and connectivity in frontal, emotional, and sensory circuits, while depression and PTSD are associated with dysfunctional plasticity in prefrontal circuits
- Flow State and “Transient Hypofrontality”: During creative flow, your brain shows reduced activity in the superior frontal gyri (executive control regions), allowing for a “letting go” state where specialized neural networks can work with minimal conscious supervision Your Brain in the Zone: A New Neuroimaging Study Reveals How the Brain Achieves a Creative Flow State +2
- Stress Hormone Reduction: Art-making reduces cortisol levels and can raise serotonin levels, while also impacting brain wave patterns and emotions through enhanced brain function AeonACRM
- Autonomic Nervous System Rebalancing: Art therapy increases resting heart rate variability (HRV), indicating improved parasympathetic nervous system function and better stress recovery capacity NihVerywell Mind
- Interoceptive Network Activation: Creative expression engages brain regions like the anterior insula and anterior cingulate cortex that mediate interoception (body awareness), supporting emotional regulation through embodied awareness Psychology TodayResearchGate
Psychological Processes: How Art Regulates Your Emotions
- Flow State Achievement: Creative activities can induce flow – a state of energized focus and full involvement where you lose sense of time and self, characterized by the balance between skill level and challenge NihThe Daily Beast
- Three-Pathway Emotional Regulation: Art therapy works through: 1) inducing relaxation and stress reduction, 2) providing conscious pathways to difficult emotions and memories for better emotion regulation, and 3) offering expression for unconscious cognitive patterns NihHealthline
- Sleep Quality Enhancement: Arts therapies significantly improve sleep issues through emotional regulation, stress reduction, and improving pre-sleep states, with research showing reduced sleep medication needs in hospital patients NCBIPlos
- Embodied Emotion Processing: Interoceptive awareness (body signal awareness) facilitates cognitive reappraisal of emotions, with higher interoceptive awareness linked to more effective emotion regulation strategies NCBIMDPI
- Rapid Stress Relief: Just 45 minutes of creative activity can reduce stress regardless of artistic experience or talent, acting as effective self-care and helping you tap into flow states Frontiers | The Embodied-Enactive-Interactive Brain: Bridging Neuroscience and Creative Arts Therapies
Why My Specific Approach Worked So Well
- Expertise-Plus-Release Model: My intuitive painting process exemplifies the “expertise-plus-release” theory – using accumulated experience with art materials while consciously releasing control to allow automatic creative processes DrexelNCBI
- Interoceptive Emotional Expression: The practice of translating feelings into colors and marks demonstrates how interoceptive awareness (asking “how do I feel?”) combined with creative expression facilitates emotional regulation and nervous system calming PubMedResearchGate
- Default Mode Network Quieting: The process of complete absorption in art-making reduces activity in the default mode network (responsible for self-referential thinking and worry), freeing you from stress-inducing mental chatter WikipediaHarvard Health
- Parasympathetic Activation: My experience of achieving “harmony” and peace through art-making represents the shift from sympathetic nervous system activation (fight-or-flight) to parasympathetic dominance (rest-and-digest), promoting sleep and recovery Cleveland ClinicScienceDirect
These findings validate that art-based nervous system regulation is backed by solid neuroscience research across multiple domains!
The simple exercise I described at the start of this post works for all four Personal Innovation Styles. But if you want help creating your own personalized practice I invite you head over to YvetteDubel.com to take the “What’s My Style Quiz”. Once you have your results you can opt in to get free tips on making your style work for you. Go to YvetteDubel.com to start living your more peaceful life now.