Welcome to my blog, Harmony Shift. This is the place where we help shift workers live a happier, healthier life through mind, body, and spirit. This week I want to talk about having a hobby and how important it really is. Hobbies are great, they can be in the arts, music, literature, crafts, outdoors whatever you want it to be. There was a study done by Nature Medicine in Sept. 2023, suggested that having a hobby was good for your mood and health. So, lets take a closer look at how hobbies can improve your overall health.
Losing Interest
Losing interest and the joy in doing things you normally like doing is one symptom of poor mental health. Known as anhedonia, this is a common symptom of depression. Most patients want relief from this one symptom and get back to doing things they love and getting back to the hobbies they once had. My thought is this stems from possibly the drugs used to treat depression target other symptoms and don’t seem to alleviate it. For some people, anhedonia is one of the first symptoms of depression they have and can even be used to predict the severity of the depression a person might be experiencing. If you have depression, keep an eye on this symptom and check with your doctor if you experience anything of the sort.
Researchers searched through five large studies involving more than 93,000 people across 16 countries including such countries as the United States, Japan, China, and a dozen European countries. Participants were all ages 65 and older, and more than 60% had longstanding mental or physical health conditions. They answered questionnaires about their health and well-being and were followed for four to eight years. The study concluded that compared with people who didn’t have hobbies, the people who did reported better health, more happiness, fewer symptoms of depression, and a higher life satisfaction. The findings were similar across all countries. Researchers say hobbies such as arts and crafts, games, gardening, or volunteering, involve creativity, sensory engagement, self-expression, relaxation, and cognitive stimulation, which all are linked to good mental health and well-being.
There is a thing called “social prescribing”, you may have heard of it by your doctor or in passing, but it’s where doctors ask their patients (with mild to moderate depression) to take up a non-medical intervention (hobby) to improve their symptoms. This is due to some antidepressants are less effective with mild depression symptoms. So, taking up a hobby can relieve some depression symptoms making that person happier and healthier.
Our Reward System
Ok, now we are going to get to the “why” of the hobby-mental health connection. This is the fun, good part. So, the reason finding time for hobbies can work has to do with how they affect the reward system in the brain. When we take the time to do things that we enjoy, chemical messengers in the brain (known as neurotransmitters) are released, for example dopamine, a chemical which helps us feel pleasure. These feel-good chemicals can make us want to do the hobby over and over again and feel more motivated to do so.
This helps with also going to the gym or working out, even though we may not feel motivated in the beginning, once we start it and feel the associated pleasure, this will kick-start our reward system and subsequently our motivation to do it again. In addition to pleasure and motivation, hobbies can bring other benefits too. Physical hobbies can improve your fitness, and others can even improve your brain function. Research suggests that hobbies like playing a musical instrument improve your memory, while artistic hobbies such as reading, or board games puzzles are reported to prevent dementia later in life. Ok, that’s all the fun on the brain part, cool huh?
Did you know that taking up a hobby also improves your relationships. Yes, believe it or not, with co-workers and family, spouse, friends, and neighbors. If you find like-minded people who enjoy doing the same activities as you, it could have added benefits as well. Research shows that doing activities in groups such as team sports or volunteering helps enhance your communication skills and build healthy relationships.
Make Time for Hobbies
We live in such a hectic scheduled world that a common reason many don’t take up hobbies is a lack of time. Many people are inclined to prioritize their work or other activities over hobbies. It’s important to make time for activities that you love, but keep the following things in mind:
Instead of trying to take out time every day to do an activity, take a long-term approach and find gaps in your schedule that you can fill with a hobby. Even if you’re unable to do it every day, allocate a few hours every week or every month for such activities. You will be surprised at the difference it makes.
There’s research that supports taking multiple small breaks during your work to improve productivity. You can indulge in activities that you enjoy, such as reading, tending to your garden, or listening to your favorite podcast during these breaks. The breaks don’t have to be long, but a little bit is better than not at all.
A lot of times, when you work, the hours tick by without you realizing it, or you spend more time on social media or television. Understanding what’s taking up most of your time and whether you can utilize some of it doing things that you truly enjoy doing will make a huge impact in your mental health and stress levels.
Conclusion
In conclusion, make sure you set aside time to do the things you love, used to do, and enjoy doing. These are all good things to improve your mental health, make you a happier, healthier person while building relationships along the way.
Take care and until next time.
Darren
Harmony Shift 