Inside: The Power of a Creative Hobby in Boosting Your Wellbeing. Collaborative post.
If someone were to ask you what activities are good for your health, there are a few things you could say as an answer.
The first thing that might spring to mind is a healthy diet, quickly followed by regular exercise and sleeping well every night.
Lifestyle choices like not drinking excessively or smoking might also pop into your head. But would you say ‘having a creative hobby’?
Let’s be honest. Not everyone would.
Yet engaging in creative pursuits can benefit you in several ways, including reducing your stress levels, enhancing your mood, and even improving cognitive function.
So, if you are ready to broaden your horizons, read on. You may just find another way to improve your well-being.
The Science Behind Creativity and Wellbeing
Believe it or not, there is a growing body of research that highlights the benefits of creative activities for mental health.
Several studies, including a recent one in 2023 by Nature Medicine, suggest that engaging in a creative hobby can be good for your health and mood.
On a scientific level, partaking in creative hobbies has been linked to lowering your cortisol levels, which is the hormone responsible for stress. It has also been suggested it can increase dopamine, the neurotransmitter linked to pleasure and motivation.
To put this in simple terms, when you create, you feel good, which might go some way towards explaining why sip and paint with Pinot & Picasso sessions are so popular.
Creativity also engages the brain in a way that promotes mindfulness. If you’ve ever found yourself lost in writing a blog post, painting on canvas or even creatively cooking, you’ve entered a state of ‘flow’ – the psychological term for being completely immersed in an activity.
This flow state is incredibly beneficial because it allows you to detach yourself from any worries you might have and experience a welcome sense of calm and focus.
How a Creative Hobby Helps Your Mental Health
So, how exactly can practising a creative hobby help your mental health?
Here are some ways you can benefit from doing so.
1. Reduced Stress and Anxiety
Life can be overwhelming for all of us at times and really quite stressful, which can be detrimental to our health if we aren’t able to process it.
However, engaging in activities like painting, drawing, or playing music allows you to express your emotions in a non-verbal way and provides a healthy escape from anxiety and tension.
Indeed, many therapists actively recommend creative outlets as a form of self-care, perceiving them as a terrific way to regulate emotions and build resilience.
2. Enhances Mood and Increases Happiness
Have you ever noticed how good you feel after completing a large jigsaw puzzle or baking something from scratch?
That’s because, as touched upon earlier, creativity triggers the release of dopamine, which is often referred to as the ‘feel-good’ chemical.
This natural mood booster helps combat feelings of sadness or low energy, so the more you can experience it through your creative hobbies, the more lifted your spirits will be.
3. Improves Cognitive Function
Creativity is great for your emotions. But it can also be beneficial for your brain health.
Activities that involve problem-solving, pattern recognition, or fine motor skills strengthen neural pathways and improve cognitive function.
So, whether you are playing an instrument, crocheting intricate designs, scrapbooking or taking photography, such activities will help to keep your brain engaged and active.
4. Encourages Mindfulness
Most of us have to deal with constant distractions in our daily home and professional lives, which is why it is good to have a creative hobby that provides us with a moment to switch off.
Engaging in creativity allows you to practice mindfulness by fully immersing yourself in the present.
Finding the Right Creative Hobby for You
Knowing you need a creative pursuit is one thing. But actually finding one you like partaking in regularly is another thing entirely.
The key to doing so is to find an activity that excites you and definitely not one that feels like a chore. You can see a long list of ideas here. But below are some specific ones that might pique your interest.
1. Painting and Drawing
Visual arts offer an incredible outlet for self-expression.
So, why not sign up for a local art class, the aforementioned Pinot and Picasso, or simply just enjoy some adult colouring-in books?
2. Writing and Journaling
From creative writing and gratitude journaling to travel blogging and keeping a diary, putting pen to paper is a therapeutic way to process thoughts and emotions and enjoy some alone and quiet time.
3. Crafting and DIY Projects
If you love the thought of creating something with your hands, then activities like knitting, crocheting, woodworking, and paper mâché should be right up your street.
All you need is a dedicated space to be able to do it, although you will probably have to clean it regularly.
Should it go well, you can even think about starting a home-based crafting business.
4. Gardening
Gardening is a fantastic way to connect with nature while enjoying the satisfaction of watching something grow.
You can also get plenty of fresh air and vitamin D doing it, which will significantly boost your physical and mental health.
5. Photography
Capturing beautiful moments of the world around you through a camera lens can be a very fulfilling and creative pursuit.
Not only does it get you out of the house and potentially visiting new places, but it can also provide you with a nice side hustle if you want to sell them as prints or on websites like Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, iStock and Picfair.