Anyone who's seen The Shining can remember the iconic scene where Shelley Duvall looks at her husband Jack’s typewriter and sees an endless scroll of “ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY.” It’s a chilling moment, and one that’s oddly wise. A life of all work and no relaxation can promote a dull mind. That’s why having hobbies as you get older is important– it’s a way to re-engage with a state of play that we age out of once we leave childhood. It’s why so many of us take up sports leagues, role playing games, painting miniatures, birdwatching, puzzles, and other fun activities as we make our way through adulthood. Hobbies are fun, relaxing, and lack the crushing consequences of failure that more serious matters like work and family could inflict on us.
Hobbies are more than just good fun, though: they are also indicators and generators of good health. Read on as we break down the health benefits of hobbies.
Stress Reliever
Participating in hobbies can be a great way to reduce stress. Research has found that the kind of focused attention and activity that hobbies require can decrease your cortisol levels. A reduction in cortisol leads to less stress and a more positive mood. Hobbies can also increase your self-esteem over time by giving you a feeling of competence and mastery over a particular subject. These feelings can help combat depression and improve your overall mental well-being.
Fosters Social Connections
Studies have found that people with hobbies tend to be less isolated and have more social connections than people who don’t have interests outside of work and family. This may seem counterintuitive since most non-outdoors/athletic hobbies involve you working by yourself at home. Hobbies tend to form communities around them: in-person meetup groups and clubs, online forums (name a hobby and there’s at least one Reddit subforum and Discord server devoted to it), and even the occasional convention or festival. Having a hobby gives you a topic of conversation and a means to connect with like-minded people. Want to establish a friendship with someone? It can be as easy as asking them for advice on how to properly paint a miniature or the best way to prune a bonsai brunch.
Hobbies also offer an opportunity to practice important soft skills like communication, negotiation, and leadership. If you’ve ever wanted to be a mentor, guiding someone new to your hobby can be a great way to get a feel for the responsibilities and obligations of mentorship before you apply to more professional avenues.
Lower Blood Pressure
If you have a hobby that involves physical activity and/or extended periods of outdoor time, that could help you lower both your blood pressure and heart rate. Even if you have a hobby that isn’t physically demanding, you can still experience some of this benefit: high cortisol levels increase blood pressure, so the overall decrease in stress and cortisol that hobbies cause ensures that you’ll enjoy lower blood pressure even when you’re indoors.
Brain Candy
If you’re looking to stay sharp as you get older, a hobby is a fun and effective way to bolster your brain health. Studies have found that people with hobbies exhibit less signs of cognitive decline with age. Cognitive decline factors in your ability to retain memory and process information. The consistent mental engagement and memorization that hobbies encourage can stimulate and strengthen your neurons, helping to maintain your neuroplasticity as you grow older.
Article by Austin Brietta
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