This is NPR's Life Kit. I'm Malika Garib.

By day, I'm a journalist on NPR's Science Desk,

but in all the time in between, I'm an artist,

specifically a cartoonist and a graphic novelist.

A lot of my free time is spent making things.

At work, I doodle between tasks in the morning,

I like to write in my journal,

and I like leaving tiny flowers and notes for people on the bus.

Doing these things, it's like a dialogue between what's happening inside my head and the outside world.

The things I make delight and surprise me.

It helps me make sense of my emotions, and really,

it just makes me feel calmer and more in control.

And that made me wonder,

what is going on inside my brain when I make things?

Why does it feel so good?

And how can I get other people even though they don't consider themselves artists

on the creativity train?

That's what this Life Kit is for,

to help you start a regular art habit.

Because there are so many health benefits that come from making art.

Things change in your body, your stress levels go down,

your sense of perceived stress, your mood improves.

...