Hobbies can (and should) be a vital part of our wellbeing. But not all hobbies are created equal. How restorative are yours?
What is a hobby?
A hobby is an activity done voluntarily during spare or leisure time for pleasure. The key words here are voluntarily and for pleasure.
Hobbies include a wide range of activities such as gardening, basket weaving, restoring antique furniture, games, sports, and participation in clubs.
As you can see from this list, one person’s hobby may bore another person, or even stress them out. It isn’t the particular activity that matters. It’s why we do it and what we expect from it.
Why are hobbies good for us?
Many of us lead busy lives. We work long hours while also maintaining a household and caring for children or aging parents. And what do we do when we have a bit of downtime?
We pull out our phones or plop down in front of a screen.
But passive entertainment like videos and social media aren’t nearly as restorative as participating in a hobby. In fact, research shows that people who regularly participate in hobbies tend to be happier, healthier, and less stressed than those who don’t.
How do hobbies benefit us?
They improve our mood and lower stress. They allow us to focus on something enjoyable, which not only stops us ruminating on problems, but also releases those feel-good hormones that lower cortisol and stress. The more we focus on what we are doing in the moment (as opposed to worrying over the future or fretting over the past) the happier we feel.
They improve mental health and cognitive function. Fun activities engage our brains and our bodies. Growing in a skill we enjoy challenges our memory, focus, and motor skills, all of which enhance cognitive function and overall wellbeing. Hobbies can also give us boost of self-esteem when we successfully finish a project, whether it’s completing a jigsaw puzzle, creating a watercolor painting, or raising a tomato plant.
They build connections. Any activity done with others, from team sports to card clubs, fosters positive interaction, builds friendships, and helps stave off loneliness and depression.
How restorative hobbies enhance our lives—the CARE model
Hobbies enhance our lives by impacting one or more of the categories represented by the acrostic CARE. The more of these categories an activity includes, the more that activity will enhance your wellbeing.
Curiosity – Does your hobby feed your curiosity? Does it challenge you to improve skills or learn more about a topic that interests you? Does it entice you to try experiment? Activities that keep us curious, learning, and tackling new challenges are good for our mental health and help keep our brains strong and resilient.
Activity – Does your hobby get you out of your head and into doing something with your body? Does it involve making something with your hands or get you outside in nature? Does it get your heart pumping as you engage in a fun activity? An activity that gets us off the couch, and interacting with something other than a screen provides a respite for our senses, brains, and focus. It also gets our blood flowing and our joints moving.
Relationships – Does your hobby involve interacting with others fact-to-face? Spending time with others who share your interest builds community, provides opportunities to develop new friendships, and sparks innovation.
Expression – Does your hobby offer an avenue for creative expression? A good hobby provides us with a judgement-free zone where we can enjoy the soul-healing process of creating something purely for the experience. A lovely (or tasty) result is a bonus.
How do I determine if a hobby is revitalizing for me?
Hobbies are about the experience not the end result. You should not feel pressure to have something to show for your efforts. Hobbies give you permission to remain a novice, make rookie mistakes, and focus on the fun of doing the thing without worrying how “good” the final result will be, how often you win, or how well you performed. Research has shown that making art lowered cortisol, even when the participants weren’t “good” at making art.
Side hustles are not hobbies. Sometimes a hobby turns into a side hustle. That is fine, but realize the moment you put pressure on yourself to produce a saleable product, you are no longer doing it just for fun. It has become work. Enjoyable work, but work nonetheless.
What restores someone else may not restore you. We need to be honest with ourselves about why we’re doing something and what we’re getting out of it. If an activity is adding more stress or frustration than joy, it’s not an effective hobby. If it bores you, it’s not helping you. If it feels like a chore or a duty, it’s not restoring you.
Tips to make time for hobbies in your busy life
Do you struggle to make time for the hobbies that restore you? If so, these tips may help you become more intentional about including time for these rejuvenating activities in your life.
- Plan them into your weekly schedule. If you don’t block out time for them, chances are you’ll never get around to them.
- Join a group or a class. This might give you the incentive to show up and do the thing you love. Plus, it gives you an opportunity to spend time with like-minded people doing something you love together.
- Try practicing Sabbath. God told his people to rest one day a week because he knew it isn’t good for us to be busy doing productive work 24/7. Practicing Sabbath helps you slow down and spend more time with God. But it also provides time to devote to activities that restore your body, mind, and soul.
What hobby do you need to add to your schedule this week to bring a little more joy and relaxation into your life?
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