Can you improve your physical health with a hobby? Absolutely! Listen to today's episode and you'll find out how! #hobby #selfcare #SelfCareSunday #SelfCareHacks #hiking #kayaking #canoeing #greenspace #bluespace #optoutside #geocaching #sports #mountainbiking #gravelbiking #biking #canyoneering

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.

Can you improve your physical health with a hobby? Absolutely! Listen to today's episode and you'll find out how! #hobby #selfcare #SelfCareSunday #SelfCareHacks #hiking #kayaking #canoeing #greenspace #bluespace #optoutside #geocaching #sports #mountainbiking #gravelbiking #biking #canyoneering
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14 Comments

  1. 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

  2. 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.

  3. 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

  4. 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!

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Anita Ojeda

Anita Ojeda juggles writing with teaching high school English and history. When she's not lurking in odd places looking for rare birds, you can find her camping with her kids, adventuring with her husband or mountain biking with her students.

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