Monday 14 November 2016

Three reasons to take up a hobby

I recently saw an article in one of my Mother-in-Laws magazines and thought it was worth posting here.

Three Reasons To Have A Hobby;

1 - IT MAKES YOU FEEL HAPPY
When you are completely absorbed in a hobby you love, you enter a 'flow state' where you lose the sense of time passing. Studies have shown that being in this high state of concentration releases 'happy' chemicals - endorphins and dopamine.

This is certainly the case with me when I am working down my shed - the time just flies by.

2 - IT IS GOOD FOR THE HEART
A US study found that people with a hobby were 34% less stressed and their heart rates were not only lower but stayed that way for longer.

3 - YOU'LL BE BETTER AT YOUR JOB
A recent study in the Journal of occupational and Organizational Psychology found that those with hobbies had improved problem solving skills and were more likely to help a workmate tackle problems. Plus the more time they spent on their hobby the better their job performance - scoring between 15 - 30% higher than colleagues without a hobby.

I find that if I am away from my hobby - the shed in particular for any length of time, I get withdraw symptoms and find myself needing to model or paint something.

Tony

5 comments:

Eric the Shed said...

totally agree - I also get withdrawal syspyoms if I stray too far from the shed

PatG said...

It keeps me sane. When the rest of the world is difficult to deal with, escaping into gaming be it playing, researching or just painting can bring welcome relief.

Tony said...

"It keeps me sane."

I agree - I'm not sure how I would have dealt with life without my modelling hobby.

Although a first grandson is giving it a run!

Tony

Her indoors said...

Washing,ironing, cooking, cleaning, gardening, painting, decorating ,taxi service....all these things would be what you should do if you didn't spend so much time on your hobby. :p

Rob Alderman said...

Good words there.

It's very hard to separate work and hobby when your hobby is work.

I sit down and want to paint Panzerfäuste models, but because I've made them, it can sometimes be very hard to muster the enthusiasm! They are awesome figures, but I see them so much it's hard to get super excited!