It sounds counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? Doing more, will help you relax. Sure, when it comes to work, that’s rarely the case. Even if you do insist that you love your work, doing more of it won’t let you relax.
But doing something you have a passion for is rarely going to feel like work. Studies show that people with a hobby are less likely to have to deal with stress, depression, and a low mood. But why is that? What is it about doing a hobby that keeps the mind at ease? We explore here.
It is low stakes
Let’s say you do enjoy your hobby as a job. Artists sell paintings as a career, filmmakers create content, cyclists enter the Olympics. The problem with that is that there’s now consequences if you’re not “good”. Your paintings don’t sell, your content isn’t going viral, you only take-home silver, etc.
No one is about to argue that entering the Olympics isn’t stressful. Turning your hobby into a livelihood turns a hobby stressful. There’s suddenly bills to think about, improvement, bureaucracy, and even sometimes fame and the pressure of publicly failing.
A hobby, on the other hand, is purely for your enjoyment. You don’t need to worry about if doing it wrong or badly, because there are no consequences to failure. You gain all the benefits of enjoying your hobby and improving upon it without the negatives of stressing about it.
It gets you out
No matter what your hobby is, chances are there is an equivalent that will get you out of the house. You knit? You can join a knitting group or simply pull out your wool in the local café. You read? You can read in the park. You run? The very act of running gets you out.
And a hobby’s even better if it can get you out and into nature. Sometimes we simply need to get out of our hole to shake off some bad feelings but getting into nature is hugely beneficial. It helps with better attention and memory, lowers stress, and lifts a mood. But simply being in nature can be less enticing to those of us with a shorter attention span, so if you can, find a hobby you can do in nature.
The added benefit there is that a lot of outdoor hobbies involve at least some element of exercise. You’ll relax when your body is knackered at the end of the day and get healthier. Win-win. All you need to worry about is where you’re going to keep your bike when you’re not cycling. Think about storing them in a Safestore unit to keep them out of the way and protected.
It gets you socialising
The secondary reason getting out because of a hobby is beneficial is because it’ll let you connect with more people. If you can take your hobby into a group setting, you’ll find more people willing to talk and get to know you, because you already have something in common. If you’re looking to meet new people or have an excuse to start a conversation, take your hobby out with you.
It keeps your mind healthy
The best benefit of a hobby is that sweet spot between keeping your mind busy but not too busy. Have you ever noticed people love painting a room, even though it’s all the same colour? It’s that sort of sensation of doing something but not doing too much. Knitting is repetitive. It lets your hands go on auto mode, and yet it’s never boring. You will strengthen your mind in terms of knowledge, attention, memory and more by doing something simple that you love.
