Improving your health isn’t always about doctor’s visits or prescriptions.
Changing your outlook on life can sometimes work just as well as any medicine. Having a hobby can help you pursue things that enrich, de-stress and otherwise keep you active in your free time. This is important for anyone wanting to improve their well-being, no matter how busy or how bored they are. For a lot of people, the problem is finding a hobby that works for them, so with that said, here are five hobbies that can improve your health and well-being.
1. Arts & Crafts
The idea of art therapy has become a very popular phenomenon. Nothing is more beneficial in your free time than creating art. Not only does art provide creative stimulation, it can also be therapeutic for stress and anxiety. In addition, there are no barriers to pursuing art because there are so many varieties of it, whether it’s coloring, pottery, knitting, or digital, whatever strikes your fancy. Investing your time into art not only makes you productive, but it also provides distractions from the pressures of modern living.
2. Dancing
While the prospect could be daunting to some people, dancing does wonders for both your physical and mental well-being. Taking classes in any dance form from ballet to Zumba can help you burn calories and make you feel good. Most forms of dance involve exercising your cardiovascular and muscular systems to boost health. The social contract gained from dancing can also be important as it can lead to finding a new community, building new friendships, and sometimes even more.
3. Gardening
Gardening can be thought of as hard work, and for some people hard work can be its own form of relief. Gardening can be scaled to the size you want. Small indoor gardens with potted plants and succulents are just as viable as veggie plots or flower beds. You may have a small area that requires working vertically or a large section that you plan to corner off with a shed. Creativity in how you might plan your garden contributes to the restorative benefits of gardening. Making a project out of gardening can make you feel productive and active, and this is good for your mental well-being.
4. Writing
As a passive activity, writing can provide excellent stimulation for the mind. It doesn’t matter what sort of writing you’re interested in; it can be beneficial just to practice it. Journals, poetry, and creative writing are popular forms of the hobby, but there are plenty of health benefits in other forms of writing as well. Writing letters, blogs, essays, and articles can help the writer express pent up energy or anxiety. Practicing writing as a hobby comes with the benefit of improving your writing skills, which may help you with future opportunities.
5. Nature Walks
In Japan, there is a term known as “forest bathing.” It’s based around the idea that simply being present in nature can provide meditative and therapeutic effects. While not a magical remedy of any sort, taking walks through nature does have calming effects on the mind along with physical benefits. If you’re feeling cooped up or under the weather, find a local walking track and spend an hour or so just enjoying the outdoors. It doesn’t cost anything besides your time.
It's important to balance work with the play, so you never feel burnt out. If you’re feeling like your health and well-being aren’t as they should be, consider engaging in some of the hobbies in this article and see how they could improve your life. Hobbies are essential to your well-being because they keep your mind engaged, relaxed, and in control.
“We do not develop anything with one giant step. No matter who you are, or what you do, each one of us had to take a lot of the individual steps to accomplish a task, a job, a career, or even a hobby. Each step serves to move us forward even if it is an inch at a time.”
- Catherine Pulsifer
© Harper Reid, Curtis Health . All Rights Reserved.