It’s right around that time of the year when the sun begins to set earlier, it’s colder, and getting out of bed becomes harder. Your productivity is taking a hit, you feel down because it looks sad outside, and you find yourself unable to do anything beyond doom scrolling for hours. What do you do with yourself? You take up a hobby. Yes, they are time consuming, but once you integrate it into your routine, it will help improve every aspect of your life.
First, let’s define what a hobby is. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a hobby as an “occupation or topic, pursued merely for the amusement or interest that it affords.” A hobby can be anything! The main requirements are that it holds your full attention, provides a constant source of happiness, and that you partake in it regularly. You also don’t have to be particularly good at something in order for it to qualify as a hobby, all that matters is that doing it brings you some joy.
A study published in the National Library of Medicine claims that “enjoyable leisure activities, taken in the aggregate, are associated with psychosocial and physical measures relevant for health and well-being.”[1] In addition, they are associated with reduced stress levels.[2] These leisure activities encompass a wide variety of pastimes, from very physical ones like weekly tennis sessions or daily early morning hikes, to sedentary activities such as puzzles, reading and drawing. Even volunteering at an animal shelter to be around fluffy little creatures can be a hobby![3] While it all sounds great in theory, the question of when and how to integrate a hobby into your life continues to creep back up, and you may lack the time, resources, or are simply too exhausted to think of adding another activity to your day.
This is where we take a closer look at variety, and all the benefits you could reap from dedicating morsels of time to a hobby.
Firstly, a hobby doesn’t have to be something completely unrelated to your usual tasks, it can be anything that adds excitement to one of them. Think of cooking, for example! Isn’t it absolutely exhausting to have to figure out what to eat multiple times a day, every day? But what if it wasn’t such a hassle? What if it was less about just feeding yourself and more about learning a new technique, trying a new spice, meal prepping, or replicating recipes from your favorite shows? You’ll have fun with yourself, feel accomplished and have given your body something nutritious to fuel on at the same time. Besides, according to an article by the Wall Street Journal, “[following a recipe] can help build self-esteem and curb negative thinking.”[4] So, taking up a hobby can not only fuel your body, but also your soul.
Hobbies also do not have to be useful! The base for a hobby is simplistic joy. Something that makes the world around you disappear, that occupies your thoughts in a way that you have nothing to spare for a gloomy reminder. But sometimes we have trouble seeing the value of adding an activity to our life that isn’t immediately productive. In these cases, something like learning a new language may be just the thing for you! In learning a new language, you open up a whole world of possibilities. It becomes something new that you can bring to the table, expands the catalog of media you can enjoy, and helps you to become a better decision maker.[5]
But you don’t have to choose one of the hobbies we’ve outlined here to reap the benefits. All forms of recreational activities can help “avoid boredom and burnout,” and have been linked to stress reduction, which is crucial in maintaining good mental health.[6] Additionally, hobbies that have a creative aspect can be “therapeutic,” while those with active aspects can improve “blood pressure…and help you sleep better.”[6] Some hobbies can even improve your ability to problem solve and help you become a better leader. Having a fun and carefree activity can help ameliorate the stress from intense jobs or periods in your life, as well as allow for overall clearer thinking. [7]
Lastly, hobbies can help you foster new relationships! Participating in classes, joining running clubs, or even participating in an online community for something like writing, allows you to be in spaces where people interact with each other, and can therefore mitigate loneliness.[6]
In short, hobbies can help improve many areas of your life, all while having lots of fun!
[1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2863117/
[2] https://academic.oup.com/abm/article/49/4/605/4562699
[3] https://nopanic.org.uk/hobby-ideas-anxiety/
[4] https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-road-to-mental-health-through-the-kitchen-1418059204
[5] https://www.languageconnectsfoundation.org/connect-with-language/the-benefits-of-learning-languages
[6] https://blog.mercy.com/hobbies-improving-mental-health/#:~:text=Research%20shows%20that%20having%20an,and%20help%20you%20sleep%20better
[7] https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/studies-show-you-can-manage-stress-beat-burnout-by-doing-more-of-this-away-from-work.html
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