Want To Live Better And Think Longer? Get A Hobby
As we get older, it becomes more important to use our brains...well that is if you want to keep it working.
A little over a week ago, a report came out from the Mayo Clinic that having a hobby delays memory loss. So first, let’s look at that…
“Those who had during middle age been busy reading, playing games or engaging in craft hobbies like patchworking or knitting were found to have a 40% reduced risk of memory impairment.
In later life, those same activities reduced the risk by between 30 and 50%.”
It goes back to a discussion we had a month ago about the brain and learning. Keeping the brain active keeps the brain healthy.
The Tube Might Make You A Boob
Perhaps your hobby is watching TV? Unfortunately, that’s the wrong hobby if you hope to keep your brain running strong.
Watching TV however does not count – and indeed spending significant periods of time in front of the box may speed up memory loss, researchers found.
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Those who watched TV for less than 7 hours a day were also 50% less likely to develop memory loss than those who spent longer than that staring at the screen.
Is this really making us smarter.....or is it just dumbing us all down and distracting us from real life?
Seven hours? I can’t imagine being that bored. However, I can see why watching all that TV dulls the mind. First, you’re sitting engaged in a passive activity. There’s no imagination required when watching TV. As much as I love “The Lord Of The Rings” trilogy, seeing it on the big screen is no comparison to reading the book and envisioning the world that Tolkien is creating.
Second, watching TV takes away the time that you could be finding a constructive hobby. Of course, that’s not to say there’s anything inherently wrong with the television. It can be great entertainment and some people use it to unwind for a short time before sleeping. But I think making it the focal point of your day is where the problems begin.
Five Ways A Hobby Will Improve Your Life
But how exactly is a hobby going to improve your life?
- Pure enjoyment – As you know, I recently took up drums. I will probably never duplicate the genius of Ginger Baker (though I have a pretty solid rendition of “Sunshine Of Your Love”!) or John Bonham on the drums, but I can hammer out a few songs decently and have a great time doing so.
- A sense of accomplishment – I most certainly wouldn’t call myself a drummer…I’m just a guy with a drum set. But every time I sit behind my drum set, I pull off something that gave me fits the day before. And there’s no limit to how far I can go or how much I can learn. There’s always another song or another complex measure to learn. Or just simply teaching my feet to actually do as I say! The same sense of accomplishment comes with any hobby. You learn new words, work the impossible crossword puzzle, or chase down that elusive stamp.
- Stress relief – A hobby is a great way to relieve stress. Sticking with the theme, nothing beats coming home from work, grabbing my drumsticks, and putting together something that almost resembles music. In fact, drumming is great stress relief…if I get frustrated trying to get something, I can just hit the drums harder with no worry of breaking things. Haha!
- A creative outlet – I think this is huge for everyone, but especially us Type As that are always “go, go, go, climb the ladder”. For a logical, math-oriented guy like myself, making music is quite a change for me.
- Meet new friends…Or hang out with old ones in new ways – I’m fortunate in that I have two friends that also “play” an instrument: one on guitar and one on bass. We have a horrible garage band already assembled. So now, instead of sitting around watching TV, we’ll spend a Friday night every couple weeks with a few beers and some massacring of music for a few hours. If you don’t already have friends with an interest in your hobby, check out Meetup.com…there are groups for most anything you can think of.
So What’chu Gonna Do?
So what is your hobby? Do you play an instrument? Perhaps like my brother-in-law, you study Latin. Maybe your hobby is knitting. Or painting. Cooking? Ballet? Seriously, there’s no end to how you can spend your spare time engaging your mind and body.
So what is your passion? What stirs your creative mind? Find your passion and all else falls into place.
Perhaps you’ve put your hobbies on the back-burner to focus on other things in life, like careers or kids. Perhaps it’s time to figure out what you enjoy, turn off the TV, and engage in that activity. Your hobby can be something as simple as working crossword puzzles or as complex as learning to play Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony on your baby grand. Even if you have kids, there’s no law preventing you from spending an hour or so every week doing something alone. Or you can involve the kids. They’d probably rather do something with you than watch TV anyway.
Nobody says your hobbies have to “be useful”. My brother-in-law is unlikely to ever turn his love of Latin into a fame and fortune. I’m unlikely to get rich playing the drums. Enjoyment is often more important than achievement and the richest are rarely the happiest.
15 Reader Comments
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Hobbies are great. I started blogging as a hobby and now its still a hobby but it still gives me something to keep occupied with and enjoy. Its funny how hobbies you start for fun can turn into full blown passions. I guess that was the case for me with things like Fitness and Self Development…..
Yoga is something I suggest all people try as a hobby some people hate it and that’s fine, but a lot of people really enjoy the stress relief and well being it provides which is much needed in today’s hectic world.
The human mind needs purpose and goals to be happy, hobbies can do just that!
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The brain like the rest of the body benefits from being exercised. It needs to be pushed to its limit, and like any other muscle it benefits froma good diet, exercise and rest. Much to my surprise I ahve found that I enjoy yoga (actually a mix of yoga, tai chi and pilates) more than any other form of exercise. Its great for flexibility, strength and relaxation. I would recommend anyone to give it a try.
By the way, this is proving to be a great website.
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I’m not a real musician…I just pretend and play Guitar Hero…man does my brain get a workout trying figure out how to hit all those buttons correctly! Simple things like Crosswords are a great exercise for the mind as well (or Soduko). Playing cards with friends is fun and keeps the brain going (many sub-cultures have the old men sitting under a tree playing cards or dominos).
I whole heartily believe….that if you give your mind and muscles a reason to stick around (be active with them), they will….the old “use it or lose it” motto comes to mind. (pardon the pun)
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Scott,
Great post. In my opinion, video games don’t count as a hobby either. People play fishing video games, ping pong video games, golf, etc. Why not learn to fish and do the real thing? I am not trying to put guys who play vids down, I had to buy Street Fighter 4 a few days ago (I kick butt with Guile), because I played part 2 all through college. I can’t shake out the Geek all the way…no matter how hard I try!
Does blogging count as a hobby? If it does, I know a few people who will never lose their memory (me, you, Chris, Mike, Andrew, Caleb, Adam, Justin, Yavor, Vic, etc.)…you guys know who you are! Get off the computer and get outside every now and then
I like your StumbleUpon bar…may need to borrow (aka steal) the idea and implement on my site,
Rusty
PS: Chris has the best Avatar ever! Is that at the end of “pumping Iron” when Arnold is smoking a “Marley”?
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Chris, I agree about hobbies becoming passions. I started my blog as a place to record my thoughts and maybe a few people would read it. I had no idea how engrossed in learning more I would become.
Paul, I should probably try yoga, if for no reason other than that I’m the most inflexible person in the world.
Mike, “use it or lose it” for sure! The brain, like the muscles, is more than ready to take on any challenge and adapt to overcome it. But if you ignore it, it’ll take its ball and go home.
Rusty, I agree the video games don’t count as a hobby, though they can count as brain exercise. They just need to not be the ONLY form of exercise the brain gets. Certain types of video games, particularly fast-moving ones (Guitar Hero and Rock Band would qualify here), improve hand-eye coordination and the ability of the brain to process visual information. I use the occasional Rock Band session more as a brief break though, rather than as a hobby. Course, now that I have a real drum set, Rock Band doesn’t get broken out very often.
Blogging counts as a hobby. It’s a creative outlet for sure. Even those of us that delve more into science and geekiness are being more creative than we care to admit.
Cheers
Scott
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Scott,
I fell into the category you describe. During the first body balance class I went to I longed for each elemenet to end, only to find each successive element harder than its predecessor. I was just about the least flexible person in the class. About 15 months later, and 3 rather than 1 class per week by now, I would proably count myself an “advanced participant” albiet with a way to go.
Everyday tasks like bending down, getting in and out of a car, etc, are almost effortless. But don’t be fooled in to thinking its just about flexibility – some of the yoga and pilates components require strength in addition to strong abbs. The more flexible you get the more the class challenges you! and you challenge yourself.
I would highly recommend giving it a go. If you don’t take to it, well at least you have given it a whirl. Its unlikely that your flexibility will improve with the pasage of Old Father Time, and you may find it helps you to more effectively other fitness activities and to reduce the risk of injury.
You and Mike are both to be congratulated on a piece of work. It has exceeded my expectation already.
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I have always been a fan of reading. It is a hobby for life. Keeps the brain, creativity and imagination active.
The SoG
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I agree; hobbies are important for the mind and body. Yoga has always intrigued me, and it would be a great idea if my fiancee and I could participate in it together, as she’s been a couch potato lately.
Awesome site, btw!
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I agree with this post a lot. Personally, I like to go salsa dancing whenever I can. During the summer months, I like to explore the hills thru hiking. These are both fun stuff that keep me active (when I’m not in the gym – that is) and keep my stress levels low. I wish these can make me rich too but I guess we’re not as fortunate as your brother…lol.
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I am hoping to make kiyaking my new hobby shortly, are looking forward to have got past the upside down roll. Looks such good fun though, and apparently very goodfor the arms. Anna – you have reminded me what good aerobic exercise can be, to good music, and as anyone has watched the various “strictly come dancing” competitions its good for your appearnace, weight, and self esteem – not to mention your brain.
A good thought provoking post. And also a reminder that sometimes the very best things in life are free – or, at least, not very expensive. Cheap clothes or expensive ones look so much better on a good body. No amount of money can buy good health!
Look after your health and it will look after you.
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Great article, ever since I joined the military I stopped watching TV altogether. I really don’t miss it, it’s kinda sad how much time I’ve spent growing up watching TV. Now that I look back on it, 7 hours+ of watching TV a day is absolutely ridiculous, but back then it was the norm. I’m trying to read more often, and do more productive things with my time off other than surfing the net and watching movies. Lately I’ve been reading a lot more, and it’s quite relaxing and I get the satisfaction of knowing I’m learning something new at the same time.
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SoG, reading, playing drums, and working crossword puzzles are my non-active hobbies. I’ve gone through some really good books lately, some of which I should’ve read in high school, but that didn’t make them any less enjoyable (just really quick to burn through).
Angel, try to find ways to be active together. It’s important!
Anna, I said my brother-in-law isn’t making any money from his study of Latin. And probably never will. But he loves it and that’s all that matters with a hobby.
Paul, definitely agree about the clothes. No need for $100 shirts when a $15 shirt looks just as good on a well-built, healthy body.
Jon, I really only turn the TV on if hanging out with friends or if I want to switch up my background noise from music to TV. I can’t sit and watch an entire movie by myself though.
Cheers
Scott
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[...] Want to Live Better and Think Longer? Get a Hobby [Modern Forager] [...]
Thanks for the cameo, Brother-in-Law! And I’m a *huge* fan of hobby psychology, which is a part of “positive psychology.” I did a big paper on it in graduate school, and it still shapes my practice to this day. Check out Czikszentmihayli’s book _Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience_ (1990):
http://tinyurl.com/dx6fb5
If nothing else, you’ll verify that the author’s name is indeed real, and not the result of my spilling coffee on my keyboard on this end! LOL…
Multas gratias tibi ago!
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[...] Drums – I’ve talked before about the importance of having a hobby. Find a hobby that is both challenging and [...]