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Can you improve your physical health with a hobby? Absolutely! Listen to today’s episode and you’ll find out how!
Can You Really Improve Your Physical Health with a Hobby?
You don’t have to love golf to improve your physical health with a hobby. Great news for people like me with two left feet and a hand full of thumbs. Participating in any kind of hobby will help improve your physical health. Grab a camera (or your cellphone) and wander around a park during your lunch break every day. Photograph whatever catches your fancy. Spend time once a week culling through your photos and analyzing what makes some photos pop and others fizz. Just the act of participating in the hobby can improve your physical health, according to researchers in Japan.
In order to take care of ourselves mentally, academically, physically, and spiritually, we need to discover and engage in hobbies. Why? Leisure-time activities help us unwind and forget stressful situations. According to WebMD, we all have stress in our lives. Reserachers divide stress into eustress (normal stress such as getting a new job or starting new projects) and distress (unrelenting negative stress). Distress causes a host of problems in all areas of our lives. Hobbies help us nurture ourselves by providing a break in the unrelenting stress so we can better deal with stressful situations.
In today’s podcast I’ll share five ways you can improve your physical health with a hobby. If you’ve grown up thinking having a hobby meant you wasted time, it’s time to listen to reason. God created us to be creative, and to take rests from our work. The beginning of the school year each August produces an abundance of stress (distress) in my life, and I’ve discovered a way to counteract it. I stand on my back porch for hours photographing hummingbirds. Hey, it works for me! What works for you?
Show Notes
This article lists reasons to engage in hobbies that require physical activity.
You can find research on leisure-time activities (hobbies) here.
Need ideas for hobbies to try? Check out this post!
If you need help with time management, this post might help.
If reading is your jam, check out Book Talk Tuesdays, a weekly series with book reviews.
One of my students experienced growth outside his comfort zone while canyoneering.
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Hobbies are a great de-stressor, Anita! I enjoy gardening, taking pictures with my phone, and reading.
Lisa Blair recently posted…October Observations
I enjoy being creative which is a great destress activity.
Blessings, Jennifer
Tea With Jennifer recently posted…For the love of Shoes!
I always forget some of my destressing hobbies like coloring and journaling and always end up first on my yoga mat when stress gets to be too much. I need to get my crafty hobby stuff more organized so I remember these things! Thanks for another wonderful self help post! I hope you have a wonderful week ahead.
Shelbee
Anita, I always enjoy your photos!
It’s not a hobby, what I do,
though it seems such to my wife.
With the things I’m going through,
all of it equates to life.
Can’t go to church, or to the store,
have dinner at Mongolian Grill,
so whatever lies in store
must be met with iron will
that says my days are worth my time,
and that what goals can still be met
mayn’t represent me at my prime,
but this game’s not over yet
and that, as lights dim on the grass
there’s chance for a Hail Mary pass.
Anita,
I’ve always wanted to try my hand at water color. I have some artistic ability, but water color is much harder than I expected — not so forgiving of mistakes (you can’t go back and paint over them lol.) I have found it to be very therapeutic. I can’t overthink my problems or the world’s problems when I am in the process of creating. It also puts me in touch with my holy Creator.
Blessings,
Bev xx
Hi Anita
Your posts are always so inspiring! I believe hobbies you love can def improve your health!
Have a blessed day!
Valerie
http://www.mapleleopard.com
you probably know my answer. I find that photography, being in nature, is hugely healthy for me. I also love editing photos, which may sounds weird. But I think having a hobby that also encourages us to refresh ourselves is a good thing!
Jeanne-I believe that hobby is healthy for me too! Even the editing!
Amy Jung recently posted…Is My Level of Contentment Impacted By a Right Perspective of God?
I’m so glad I’m not alone in that. 🙂
In the past year, I’ve found caring for horses (something I absolutely love) has brought both mental, physical, and spiritual health benefits!
How interesting that having a hobby increased the lifespan of those with breast cancer. That is remarkable.
Debbie Wilson recently posted…We Need You to Vote in the Mid-Term Elections
Anita, I’m a firm believer in hobbies that increase not only our joy in life, but also add so much to our mental wellness. I have several hobbies. I even like to color in coloring books and tell my family it’s really therapy for me. My grandchildren just know Mimi likes to color. 🙂
Karen Friday recently posted…21 Declarations for Identity and Belonging
HI Anita,
I rarely make time for my hobbies anymore. Thank you for the encouragement and interesting information.