Did you know that hobbies can help reduce stress?
If you feel overwhelmed by daily responsibilities, whether by work or home life, get yourself a hobby to decompress and stimulate yourself with something you enjoy. Whether it’s joining a local sports team or taking an art class that nourishes your creativity, there is an endless variety of hobbies from which to choose!
From improving your health to meeting friends with the same interests, there’s really no excuse not to have some sort of hobby! Take a look at these six significant ways having a hobby can relieve stress and improve your overall quality of life!
- Improves Physical and Mental Health
Having a hobby can better improve your overall health. And more often than not, your physical and mental health works hand in hand. When you choose a hobby that gets your blood pumping, like rock-climbing or swimming, it can boost your mood and overall spirits. And when you choose a hobby that forces deep focus and meditation, like yoga or the arts, it too can make you more dexterous and promote better physical health. In short, hobbies not only help you gain strength but mental clarity as well, which in turn can reduce your everyday stressors.
For example, diamond art kits are an amazing and fun hobby that improves mental health. Just like using coloring books and puzzles, this meditation painting hobby can be recognized as mindfulness-based art therapy (MBAT), which teaches users and artists to be present in the moment.
Staying present in the moment and practicing mindfulness is not easy, especially when you’re experiencing stress. Instead of being distracted by pings from your phone and emails you need to respond to, with a hobby, you can easily distract yourself. And by ignoring the constant bombardment of these everyday tasks, you can focus on one singular task, center yourself and be present in time and space.
- Reduces Chronic Stress and Avoids Burnouts
While we all deal with stressful situations that arise occasionally, chronic stress is something entirely different. Chronic stress is our body’s response to intense emotional pressures over a long length of time, for which you typically have little control over. Chronic stress can be triggered by a high-pressure job, financial troubles or even a difficult relationship with a family member, friend or partner.
However, chronic stress upsets our endocrine system and creates imbalanced cortisol levels. Not only can it cause irritability, fatigue and the inability to focus or concentrate, but it can also affect us physically with heart disease, high blood pressure and even a weakened immune system. Eventually, it can lead to what we call a “burnout.”
Having a hobby is a wonderful way to combat stress on all levels, especially chronic stress. It offers a way to decompress and relax when you feel overwhelmed and it recharges your batteries, making you feel inspired and deserving of happiness.
- Promotes Good Stress or Eustress
On the flip side of chronic stress, sometimes we hit a lull where we feel uninspired or downright bored. If this is the case, good stress, otherwise known as eustress, is what you need. And having a hobby is a fantastic way to promote eustress.
Because a hobby has no deadline, it removes the type of stress we might feel from other things like work or household chores. Instead, it stimulates your brain just enough that you feel excited, releasing proper feel-good endorphins like serotonin, which has a cascading effect on your life as a whole. In essence, when you feel life is dull and monotonous, having a hobby shakes things up a bit and gives you a sense of meaning and purpose.
- Encourages Breaks
Remove yourself from daily stressors with a hobby that encourages you to take breaks. When it’s something you enjoy doing or have a goal to accomplish, this helps you to step away from responsibilities and take time for yourself. Whether it’s a daily break or a weekly break, it’s important to find a hobby you enjoy that entices and encourages you to come back time and again.
If it’s a hobby you can carry to work, like writing or knitting, bring it along and pull out the book or needles during a coffee break. Better yet, take it outside and get some fresh air to make your break that much more relaxing. If it’s a sport or class that you engage in weekly, take breaks by checking in with fellow teammates or classmates to chat or discuss the agenda. Even this small break will get you excited about the hobby and boost that eustress.
- Maintains Healthy Work-Life Balance
When you’re happy at home, you are more likely to be satisfied at work. But when you experience chronic stress caused by working late hours, this can lead to a skewed work-life balance. However, having a hobby forces you to take a well-deserved break. And by having a daily or weekly break to do something you enjoy, it allows you to frequently decompress before you nosedive into chronic stress and experience burnout.
You can even further this proper work-life balance by introducing hobbies to family members and enjoying them collectively. Spending time at home with family is essential to a healthy work-life balance, but if you find it challenging to make time for your spouse or kids, you can agree on a suitable hobby together and feel that much more connected.
- Offers Social Support
It’s not hard to find groups and social circles dedicated to literally any hobby or activity. There are book clubs for avid readers, photography classes for nature lovers and beginner sports for those looking for more physical activities.
And interacting with fellow enthusiasts who enjoy the same hobby can open up your social life outside and get you out of the house or office. Being a part of a group, whether it’s a knitters’ club who chats online or a sports team who gets rowdy on the field, connects you with others and makes life less stressful and more fun.
The people you meet can also become more than acquaintances or teammates. When you have something like a unique hobby in common, it can create lasting friendships, too.
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