{"id":11136,"date":"2018-07-19T14:53:40","date_gmt":"2018-07-19T21:53:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lifeandhealth.wordifysites.com\/?p=11136"},"modified":"2021-03-24T06:54:19","modified_gmt":"2021-03-24T13:54:19","slug":"how-hobbies-make-you-happier-and-healthier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/lifestyle\/how-hobbies-make-you-happier-and-healthier\/1411136.html","title":{"rendered":"How Hobbies Make You\u00a0Happier And Healthier"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cDo you know what I really like to do?\u201d my friend Erin asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI love to watch kids play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Huh?<\/i><\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t totally understand, but, yeah, that\u2019s Erin\u2019s favorite pastime. Watching kids play. She loves it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Listening to her explain (unintentionally, I had uttered the \u201chuh?\u201d aloud), I realized that her offbeat diversion is a really good fit for her. Erin is a highly regarded children\u2019s speech therapist. Observing play helps her relate to her small patients more naturally. It helps her know how to put them at ease and what things they yearn to express if only they could. Plus, Erin\u2019s hobby is helping prepare her for a future aspiration. She wants to write plays for kids to act out\u2014maybe at camp, church, or in school drama clubs. As she spoke, I imagined what her adventurous, exciting children\u2019s plays would be like. Kids would love them.<\/p>\n

So much goodness and potential for enrichment comes from Erin\u2019s seemingly unusual pastime. Hobbies have a way of enriching your life, work, and relationships. They give you something new to talk about, and they make life (or dare I say,\u00a0you<\/i>) more interesting. And they can be as unique as you are.<\/p>\n

Is Watching TV Your Hobby?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Many of us tend to log screen time instead of indulging in some sort of engaging pastime. After a stressful day, nothing may seem more appealing than binge-watching television. But for most people, that\u2019s not exactly a cozy, family activity. Studies have found that splurging on television (watching about three episodes or more) is usually a solo activity. And it\u2019s probably not as relaxing as you\u2019d think. Research published in the\u00a0Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine<\/i>\u00a0reported poor sleep quality in binge watchers.<\/p>\n

Additionally, too much screen time may cause us to feel jaded about life in general. Norman Doidge, psychiatrist and author of\u00a0The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science,<\/i>\u00a0describes how our heart rate and brain try to keep up with the frantic images, the visual stimulation, and the loud, sudden noises on-screen.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause typical music videos, action sequences, and commercials trigger orienting responses at a rate of one per second, watching them puts us into continuous orienting response with no recovery,\u201d writes Doidge. \u201cNo wonder people report feeling drained from watching TV. Yet we acquire a taste for it and find slower changes boring.\u201d Maybe you can relate: Do you feel like life is overstimulating, yet boring?<\/p>\n

How Hobbies Make You\u00a0<\/b><\/span>Happier and Healthier<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

There\u2019s evidence that fun diversions contribute to good health. One study<\/a> showed that people who engage in hobbies enjoy better moods, feel more interested, and have less stress and lower heart rates\u2014even hours after the recreation time. Embracing a hobby can also sharpen your ability to solve problems in other areas of life and can spin-off into unexpected skills, maybe even inspiring a new career.<\/p>\n

Pastimes improve your social well-being too. In his book\u00a0Bowling Alone<\/i>, author Robert Putnam describes\u2014alongside substantial research\u2013\u2013how Americans have retreated into isolation. He writes that while people may still\u00a0do<\/i>\u00a0things, like bowling, for example, they tend to do them alone. Instinctively, we know we need to connect through common interests, but we are doing it less frequently.<\/p>\n

Psychology professor and columnist Jaime Kurtz, Ph.D., writes, \u201cOver a couple of generations, Americans have somehow misplaced their free time.\u201d Many of us may retort, \u201cWhat free time?\u201d But the lesson here is that tasks tend to absorb as much time as you\u2019re willing to give them. According to Kurtz, not many of us are legitimately super-busy; instead, we habitually waste time, creating the illusion of busyness.<\/p>\n

Busyness can be difficult to put aside. Culturally, it seems to be a measure of status and significance. If you\u2019re one of the people stuck in the habit of wasting time, hobbies can help break the dead-end routine. Active leisure can promote that feeling of losing yourself in doing, and that \u201cflow\u201d is one of the things worthy of putting on the schedule.<\/p>\n

Choosing the Right Hobby\u00a0<\/b><\/span>for You<\/b><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a>Some people need intensity and excitement to feel engaged. But it\u2019s also true that a thrill-seeking person who loves to jump out of airplanes may also crave calligraphy. Research indicates that any healthy hobby that you enjoy is good for you, so choose based on appeal and the kind of experience you\u2019d like to have.<\/p>\n

As you hunt for a hobby, clues can be found in your childhood. What did you migrate toward as a tot? Do your favorite memories suggest an activity that you could take up again?<\/p>\n

If a hobby initially sounded good but you find it harbors a dread factor, then dump it. You have plenty of things in life that you\u00a0must<\/i>\u00a0do, so your hobby shouldn\u2019t be overwhelming or boring. That said, it\u2019s important to note that hobbies are like any other pursuit in life: you get out what you put in. Before you move on to something else, really give your hobby a chance through passionately engaging it and trying to learn something new.<\/p>\n

Here are some ideas that might inspire you:<\/p>\n

Creative & Classic<\/strong><\/p>\n