No Hobbies

I didn’t grow up with hobbies. My home life was unstable and I spent a lot of time watching TV as an escape. While some young adults were exploring their interests, I was basically developing zero skills or personal interests. In college, I met my now-husband, who had what felt like an overwhelming number of hobbies. He inspired me to try things like drawing, playing the banjo, skateboarding, and programming. It’s been hard because I still don’t know a lot about the process of learning and developing a skill but somewhere along the journey, I got into running. This has become my main hobby because it has the added benefit of improving my health. I also have kids now (and very little free time), but I’ve learned that having a variety of hobbies is actually really good for you.

Recent research supports this, showing that hobbies can have powerful benefits for mental and emotional well-being. A large-scale study published in Nature Medicine found that older adults who engage in hobbies experience fewer symptoms of depression, greater happiness, and improved life satisfaction across 16 different countries (Fancourt et al., 2023: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/09/230911141131.htm). Creative hobbies such as painting, writing, or woodworking are especially impactful, particularly when compared to more passive activities like watching TV or scrolling on a phone (Ferguson et al., 2024: https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2024/08/16/creative-hobbies-benefit-mental-health/7991723814188/).

For younger populations, hobbies also offer protective effects. Research in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence showed that teens who participate in hobbies are less likely to engage in risky behaviors such as binge drinking and marijuana use, especially in early adolescence (Lee et al., 2023: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11742730/). Another study in PLOS ONE linked leisure activities to increased curiosity and cognitive empathy, traits associated with better psychological health (Ogawa et al., 2023: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11634007/). A 2024 article on ResearchGate also emphasizes how innovative hobbies can act as therapeutic outlets, reducing stress, improving cognitive function, and boosting creativity (Kumar, 2024: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/382881354_Innovative_Hobbies_to_Enhance_Your_Mental_Health_and_Spark_Creativity).