January is Hobby Month, and in regards to New Years Resolutions, one of the best ones you can make is to pick up a hobby!
For this Week’s Feel Good Friday, we discuss some hobbies and the benefit they can have.
1. Start reading books regularly – Per Business Insider, “Reading strengthens brain functions, improves health, reduces stress, makes us more empathetic, and boosts overall happiness.” On top of the health benefits, reading is a rewarding activity if for nothing else than an exciting ride with characters you can learn to love. Make it a group activity by starting a book club with your friends!
2. Learn how to cook – While obvious that humans need to eat, many choose to either purchase fast food or pre-made frozen meals when they’re exhausted from the daily grind. However, there are many benefits to cooking your own meals. Cooking forces you to be in the moment, and with ample practice you’ll begin to use experience you acquired from previous meals to enhance future ones. As an additional bonus, you get to feel pride in the meal you’ve created for you or your loved ones.
3. Begin gardening – Per Medium.com, “After completing a stressful task, two groups of people were instructed to either read indoors or garden for 30 minutes. Afterward, the group that gardened reported being in a better mood than the reading group, and they also had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.” In addition to being a stress reliever, gardening also helps to strengthen observations skills, and decreasing levels of depression.
4. Begin a work out routine – Many have found ourselves in a rather sedentary lifestyle in 2020, and 2021 offers us a chance to break out of that cycle and begin a new workout routine. While we wait for b oth doses of the vaccines being distributed, there are several workouts one can do at home that are featured on YouTube.
5. Begin meditating – Per Mayo Clinic, “Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that can benefit both your emotional well-being and your overall health.” Meditating at least once a week at the end of the week can be a wonderful way to decompress the week’s stresses … or even a good way to mentally prepare for the week to come.
There are many more hobbies out there! Begin searching and experimenting, and let’s all look forward to a brighter 2021!