Mental Health benefits of having a hobby
Mental Health benefits of having a hobby
People often get stuck in a daily or weekly routine that doesn’t offer much more than “rinse and repeat.” Even though it’s important to stick to a schedule, the same routine can get boring, especially if you spend too much time doing low-value things like watching TV or browsing social media, or if you have bad habits that hold you back from achieving your goals.
Sometimes it’s important to change things up in a life that might seem dull.
One way to break up the monotony is to take up a hobby that you enjoy and that gives you something to do with your time.
Spending time doing something you enjoy that has nothing to do with work or other responsibilities will make you happier and more satisfied with your life. It will give you time to do something that is only for your own good and not for the good of others.
If you don’t have a hobby, your life might get boring, seem hard, and get stuck in a cycle of bad habits. Even though having a routine is great because it makes things easy, adding a hobby can give your life the excitement and spark it may need to make you happier. This will then affect how well you do at work and how well you can keep your family and other relationships healthy.
Mental Health benefits of having a hobby
Here are a few ways that having a hobby can help you.
Hobbies are a great way to deal with stress.
Your hobby should be something that makes you feel good and lets you forget about the stresses of everyday life or bad feelings. It’s a good way to take your mind off of work or other problems.
Adding something to your list of things to do might seem like it would add to your stress, but I’ve found that it’s a great way to relieve stress. When you focus on something that isn’t work and get into the flow of it, your stress seems to go away.
For example, maybe you want to learn how to fish. You might think at first that you don’t have enough time for this, but once you find the time in your busy schedule to focus on being on the water and in nature, it will help you forget about work and life for a while.
Hobbies are a good way to give yourself a break.
Hobbies let you take a break and give you a sense of purpose at the same time. If you’re like me, you like to feel like you’re getting something done no matter what you’re doing. You don’t want to feel like you’re just spinning your wheels when you’re doing something.
A hobby helps you feel like you have something to do.
You can do something while still having a good time. Also, the more you do a hobby, the more likely it is that you will learn about it, which will make you feel better about your life. You might want to learn how to write Chinese characters or a new language. The more you do your favorite thing, the more you will learn about it.
Hobbies give you new things to try and new things to learn
Challenges at work often come with stress and the feeling that you have to be the best at what you do. With a hobby, you can enjoy learning something new without getting down on yourself if you’re not good at it at first. It can even get you out of your comfort zone.
A hobby can also give you challenges that are different from what you’re used to. You may be challenged mentally at work, but you can take up a hobby like rock climbing or kayaking that will challenge you physically.
Hobbies let you find out more about yourself and your skills
If you don’t try something, you’ll never really know what you can do. You might find some skills you didn’t know you had. For instance, you might think you’d never be interested in golf because it’s boring to watch on TV and seems like a slow way to spend your time.
But if you give it a try, you might find that you love playing golf and that you have a knack for hitting the ball the right way and being good at it. Hobbies help you find out what you’re good at and what you’re not, which might surprise you. During adolescence, it’s very important to get to know yourself.
Crafting Hobbies that will make you an alternative source of income
Your job can be helped by your hobbies
Even though it might seem counterintuitive to do something outside of work to get ahead at work, career coaches have confirmed that having a hobby can help you do your job better.
Having a hobby helps you deal with stress from work and helps you think of new ideas. It also shows employers that you have interests and want to spend your time doing something.
A hobby can also make it less likely that you’ll get bored at work. If all you do is work and go home, without anything else to keep your mind active, you will get bored. Having a hobby can help you be more focused and motivated at work because it will take up time that you would have spent doing nothing else.
So, if you focus on riding your bike after work, you will give your mind a chance to think about something other than what happened at work. This can help you feel ready to go back to work the next day and do well.
Hobbies can provide additional income
You might be good enough at a hobby that you can sell to make extra money. You might even be able to do what you like as a full-time job. For instance, maybe you like to garden and spend a lot of time making sure your garden is well-kept and healthy.
If you find that you’re good at it, you could offer to help other people design their gardens, which could turn into a full-time job. Even if you just do consulting, this would be a great way to make money from a hobby.
Hobbies can help you get ready for retirement
Even though retirement might sound great, many people find that their lives lose meaning once they stop working. Some people don’t like how much their lives change when they retire. What are you going to do with all your spare time? Will you think your life has enough meaning?
Having a hobby will give you something to do outside of work and give you something useful to think about. Some people can do this by joining a bridge group. People often learn to play bridge in their later years so they can keep up with friends and keep their minds sharp.
You won’t waste time or pick up bad habits if you have a hobby
People have hobbies to keep from being bored. A lot of the suffering in our society and many of the bad things that people do are caused by boredom.
People who have good hobbies to do in their spare time are less likely to do things like drink, gamble, or do drugs. Hobbies give you something to do when you’re bored or can’t think of anything else to do. They also make you look forward to something.
“Idle hands are the devil’s workshop,” says an old proverb. Hobbies keep you from getting into trouble and keep you from being bored. So, instead of sitting around looking for something to do, you can get back to your exciting hobby that makes you lose track of time.
Hobbies help you become a better person
Your body needs food and exercise to stay healthy, and your soul needs the same things. This can happen through both being creative and practicing spirituality. When you do something that makes you feel inspired and energized, you can use those feelings in other parts of your life.
To spiritually feed your soul, you need to connect with your higher power on a regular basis. The best spiritual hobby will make you feel calm, at peace, and like you have a reason to live. Hobbies you do by yourself are similar to meditation in that they can help you calm your mind and feel closer to a higher power.
Hobbies help you feel better about yourself and boost your confidence
Getting out of your comfort zone and pushing your limits will help you feel better about yourself as you do things you thought were impossible. Every time you get better at your hobby, you give yourself more of a sense that you can do anything.
When you’re good at something, you feel good about yourself. Every activity has a learning curve, but once you feel comfortable with what you’re doing, you’ll find success and be motivated to keep going.
For example, think about how far you would come from your first tae kwon do class to your tenth. You will get better at tae kwon do as you take more classes because you will always learn something new. This process will help you feel better about yourself.
Hobbies broaden your view of the world
Getting a new hobby can help you grow as a person in a lot of ways. It makes your life more interesting and gives you a new way to look at things.
No matter what hobby you choose, you will always meet new people and learn new things. Having a hobby will help you grow in many ways, such as exposing you to new people, new ideas, and new ways to look at life.
Hobbies help you remember things
You probably already know that mentally challenging activities like playing chess or learning to code can be great for your brain. But did you know that arts and crafts like sewing and beading can also help you remember things?
These planned activities can help you focus your mind in the same way that meditation can. Crafting helps keep people from getting depressed and keeps their brains from losing their memories as they age.
Hobbies reduce stress in a good way (also known as eustress)
Eustress is a good kind of stress that gets you excited about what you’re doing. One of the best ways to feel this kind of stress is through hobbies. When you do something because you want to, you feel excited, and that feeling can spread to other parts of your life.
Consider the game of basketball. If you’re just playing for fun, the fast gameplay will probably make you feel energized because it’s so exciting. Even if your hobby isn’t as fast-paced as basketball, it can still give you a challenge that will help you deal with stress in a healthy way.
Hobbies help people be mindful and stay in the moment
You’ve probably heard of some of the most popular ways to practice mindfulness, like meditation. However, more and more evidence shows that many hobbies can also be effective mindfulness exercises. Because they help people pay attention to the task at hand.
When you really love and enjoy what you’re doing, doing your hobby trains you to get into a state of flow. For example, let’s look at pottery. The focus needed to make a piece of art helps to clear the mind of stressful thoughts and bring it back to its center.
Even if you aren’t very good at art, the process of bringing your mind and body together to make art is enough to bring you back to the present.
Hobbies can help keep you from feeling down
People often use treatments, therapies, and medicines to help them deal with mental illnesses like depression, but did you know that doing things you already enjoy can also help?
One study that looked at whether knitting could help people with eating disorders deal with their anxiety found that patients’ anxiety went down when they were busy doing something else, like knitting. In particular, 74% of the people who took part said that knitting was both relaxing and helpful.
Getting involved in a hobby you already like may be the kind of treatment you’ve been looking for. People have found that doing things like listening to music, volunteering, keeping a gratitude journal, and playing with pets can help them deal with stress and sadness.
Taking time to unwind and do something you enjoy can be good for your mental health. Hobbies help a person feel more like themselves, more useful, and happier. They also help get rid of feelings of worthlessness and self-doubt.
Hobbies help keep your body in good shape
Holistic wellness is a way of life that involves more than just eating healthy foods and working out. It also means doing what you enjoy.
Studies have shown that doing things for fun not only makes people happier and less bored, but also makes them more productive and helps them stay in shape.
People are more likely to lose weight or stay in shape if they take up a fun and rewarding physical hobby. On the other hand, forcing yourself to exercise makes it seem like a chore and often leads to quitting because it’s not fun.
So, you might not want to get up at 5 a.m. to walk on a treadmill for an hour, but you might be excited to join a kickball team after work, which can give you both exercise and a chance to talk to other people.
Hobbies help you sleep better
What do you normally do right before bed? If you’re like most people, you probably look at your phone, watch TV, or look at social media. Then you probably have trouble going to sleep.
Instead of wasting time on these things, you could find a relaxing hobby that will slow your heart rate and make your brain waves less frequent at night. This makes it easier for you to fall asleep.
Also, being active during the day can make you feel the “good” kind of tired, which can help you sleep better. So, if you have a more active hobby during the day, like taking a kickboxing class, this can help tire your body out and get it ready for a good night’s sleep.
Hobbies make your relationships stronger
When you find a hobby you love, you can do it with people you care about and spend more time with them. Maybe your relationship with your spouse has become a bit boring and routine, and it’s time to add some spark back in. If you and your partner don’t want to start a new hobby together, invite them to join you in your current hobby. (We even made a list of fun things you can do with your partner.)
You might have grown to enjoy cooking. Ask your partner to come into the kitchen with you and see what you can make together. This will give you a chance to spend time together while you cook, and then even more time while you eat what you made.
You can meet new people through your hobbies
One of the best ways to get to know someone is to share their tastes in things like music, art, and sports. Since this is the case, it makes sense to get a hobby if you want to meet new people who like the same things you do.
Spending time with people who share your interests can be a good way to make new friends.
When you talk to other people, you can learn new things, improve your skills, and make friends at the same time. Dancing is a great thing to do if you want to meet new people. Try a salsa class or another type of dance that is taught in your area so that you can see the same people each week and talk to them.
Hobbies help you become more patient
To get a new hobby, you may have to learn how to do something you’ve never done before. There will be a learning curve, and you will need time to get better. Getting good at something new takes time. Hobbies help you learn to be patient with yourself as you learn and grow.
Fishing is a great hobby that can teach you to be patient. There is a learning curve for fishing, but there is also a lot of waiting around while you wait for fish to bite or look for a good place to fish.
This is hard and will teach you to be patient. And when you catch a fish, you’ll feel good about yourself for being patient.
Hobbies let you help other people
There are many hobbies that can help you help other people in different ways. Here are some examples:
- Become a mentor
- Give a lesson
- Give away things you make.
- Give away the things you don’t need anymore.
- Help the troops by writing letters and doing other things.
- Animals at the local shelter will be walked.
- Give other people music to listen to
- Serve food at a soup kitchen.
- Help a search-and-rescue team by giving your time.
Hobbies make you more interesting
Your hobby might help you see things from a different angle than other people. If you are learning a new language, you might know a lot more about another country than someone else, and they might be interested in what you know.
Because of your hobby, you might also have some fun stories, experiences, and skills to share with other people. You might even meet someone who wants to do the same thing you do as a hobby. In that case, you could become a teacher and share everything you’ve learned.
As you can see, having a hobby can make a big difference in your life. We suggest that you spend 15–30 minutes a day on a new hobby that has nothing to do with your job or anything you already do at home. (Here are some ideas for passion projects to think about.)
Do some research to find a few things that might interest you, and then give them a try. You don’t have to stick with the first thing you try, but you will find something that interests you in the long run.
Download the hobbytwin app and tell a friend for instant hobby matching:
For iPhone/iPad&iPod: