Grounding with the Five Senses: Why It Works and How Music & Coloring Make It Stronger
When life feels loud, busy, or overwhelming, our nervous system often shifts into “auto-survival mode”: racing thoughts, muscle tension, shallow breathing, and future worries. The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique— naming 5 things you see, 4 you can touch, 3 you can hear, 2 you can smell, and 1 you can taste—is a simple, portable way to bring attention back to the present moment.
In our Grounded by the Five Senses coloring series, we pair this well-known technique with mindful coloring pages and curated music playlists so you can use all five senses in a calm, creative way. This post takes a closer look at what the research says about grounding, why structured coloring helps, and how music can support the process, especially for stress, anxiety, and emotional regulation.
The Science Behind 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding
“Grounding” describes strategies that help shift attention away from distressing thoughts or sensations and back into present-moment awareness. Clinically, grounding is used in anxiety, trauma, and stress-management work as a way to reduce physiological arousal and reorient a person to safety.
A clinical commentary by Imran (2020) describes the 5-4-3-2-1 technique as a structured sensory task that
interrupts escalating anxiety by engaging multiple senses in sequence, creating an attentional shift from
catastrophic thoughts to observable cues in the environment. This shift is consistent with broader evidence that
attentional refocusing and body-based awareness can reduce anxiety and support emotion regulation.
See:
Imran, A. (2020). Combat Against Stress, Anxiety and Panic Attacks: 5-4-3-2-1 Coping Technique. Journal of Trauma & Stress Disorders & Treatment, 9(4).
Research in body-psychotherapy also highlights grounding as a measurable, whole-person phenomenon. Shuper
Engelhard et al. (2021) developed an observational tool for “groundedness” (including posture, stability, and
presence) and argued that grounding reflects integration of bodily, emotional, and cognitive states, which is
exactly what sensory exercises aim to support.
See:
Shuper Engelhard, E., Pitluk, M., & Elboim-Gabyzon, M. (2021). Grounding the Connection Between Psyche and Soma: Creating a Reliable Observation Tool for Grounding Assessment in an Adult Population. Frontiers in Psychology.
Together, these findings support what many people experience anecdotally: guided attention through the senses can help interrupt spirals, reduce distress, and restore a felt sense of “I am here, I am safe.”
Why Mindful Coloring Fits Naturally with Grounding
Coloring is more than a pastime; when done with intention, it naturally aligns with the “see” and “touch” components of 5-4-3-2-1 grounding.
- In a review of structured coloring activities, Ashdown (2018) reported that several experimental studies found reductions in anxiety and negative mood after adults completed specific coloring tasks (for example, mandalas or themed designs).
- Mantzios & Giannou (2018) showed that unguided coloring did not automatically increase mindfulness; however, when mindfulness instructions were included, coloring became more effective as a calming and present-focused exercise. In other words, structure and intention matter.
See:
Ashdown, B. K. (2018). How Does Coloring Influence Mood, Stress, and Mindfulness?
Journal of Integrated Social Sciences, 8(1), 1–21.
Mantzios, M., & Giannou, K. (2018). When Did Coloring Books Become Mindful? Exploring the Effect of Structured Coloring Books on Anxiety. Mindfulness, 9(4), 1154–1162.
When you color with awareness of line, shape, pressure, and movement, you are already:
- Noticing what you see: patterns, curves, shadows, and color choices.
- Feeling what you touch: paper texture, the weight of the pencil, gentle repetitive motion.
- Regulating your breath and pace to match slow, rhythmic strokes.
This is precisely the kind of sensory engagement the 5-4-3-2-1 method is designed to create. The pages in the Grounded by the Five Senses series build on this by pairing each illustration with a short, therapeutically informed prompt to guide your attention, turning casual coloring into a grounded, evidence-aligned practice.
How Music Enhances Grounding and Coloring
The “3 sounds you can hear” step is one of the most powerful parts of 5-4-3-2-1. Music can deepen this step by offering predictable, soothing auditory input that supports nervous system regulation.
Multiple peer-reviewed studies highlight the impact of music on stress and anxiety:
- A systematic review and meta-analysis by de Witte et al. (2020) found that music interventions produced significant reductions in both physiological and psychological stress markers across a variety of settings.
- Dong et al. (2023) demonstrated that a 15-minute music intervention for patients after cardiac valve replacement significantly lowered anxiety, heart rate, and blood pressure compared to standard care alone.
See:
de Witte, M., Spruit, A., van Hooren, S., Moonen, X., & Stams, G. J. J. M. (2020). Effects of Music Interventions
on Stress-Related Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Two Meta-Analyses. Health Psychology Review, 14(2),
294–324.
Dong, Y., Zhang, L., Chen, L.-W., & Luo, Z.-R. (2023). Music Therapy for Pain and Anxiety in Patients after Cardiac
Valve Replacement: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, 23, 32.
These findings support what many of us feel intuitively: thoughtfully selected music can slow our breathing, soften muscle tension, and shift mood. When paired with coloring, music:
- Provides a gentle, continuous sound to “hook” your attention during the 5-4-3-2-1 practice.
- Helps mask distracting noise, making it easier to stay with the page in front of you.
- Supports a sense of safety and predictability, key elements in regulating the stress response.
That is why each book in the Grounded by the Five Senses series is designed to work beautifully with calm, curated playlists. As you color and read the prompts, the music becomes your “3 sounds,” naturally woven into the grounding process.
Turning Evidence into a Simple At-Home Practice
Here is how you can combine 5-4-3-2-1 grounding, coloring, and music in a way that reflects what the research supports:
- Set the scene. Choose a quiet spot, soft lighting, your coloring book, and a warm drink.
- Press play. Start a calming playlist at a comfortable volume.
- Begin with sight. Take a slow breath. Notice 5 visual details on the page—lines, shapes, shadows, and small textures in the illustration.
- Engage touch. Notice 4 tactile sensations—the page, the pencil in your fingers, the table under your arms, and your feet on the floor.
- Listen. Identify 3 sounds—the music, your pencil moving, and your breath. Let those sounds remind you that you are here, not in the worry story.
- Finish with smell and taste. Gently notice 2 smells and 1 taste (tea, cocoa, a candle, or fresh air).
Color at your own pace. If your thoughts wander, simply return to one of your senses or the next section of the page. Over time, this sequence can train your body to associate coloring and music with safety, regulation, and calm, which is exactly what the research describes as effective grounding.
Why a Grounded Coloring Book Is a Meaningful Gift (for Yourself or Someone You Love)
The holidays and everyday life rarely slow down on their own. Building a small, sensory-based ritual is one way to gently reclaim your attention, your breath, and your body.
The Grounded by the Five Senses series was created with this in mind: mindful illustrations, reflection prompts, and sensory themes (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell) that fit naturally with 5-4-3-2-1 grounding and the growing research on music and coloring for stress relief.
If you would like a simple, research-informed tool to support grounding for yourself, your clients, or someone who needs a gentle reset, explore the full series on my Amazon Author Page: Daniel B. Tague – Grounded by the Five Senses Series. Pair a book with a cozy playlist, a favorite mug, and a quiet corner, and you have more than a gift; you have a portable, sensory grounding practice.
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