Creative hobbies may greatly benefit mental health

Painting, woodworking, writing: Whatever you turn to creatively, it could equal or exceed work in terms of maintaining mental health, new research shows.

"Crafting and other artistic activities showed a meaningful effect in predicting people's sense that their life is worthwhile," said study lead author Dr. Helen Keyes , of Anglia Ruskin University in Britain.

"Indeed, the impact of crafting was bigger than the impact of being in employment," she added. "Not only does crafting give us a sense of achievement, it is also a meaningful route to self-expression. This is not always the case with employment."

The new study was published Friday in the journal Frontiers in Public Health . It involved almost 7,200 participants in the annual Taking Part survey, conducted by Britain's Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Folks were asked about their level of participation in cultural, digital and sporting activities.

People were also queried about their levels of loneliness and "sensations of happiness, anxiety and life satisfaction, and to give their impression of whether life is worthwhile," according to a journal news release.

More than a third (37.4%) of respondents said they'd been involved in some kind of arts or crafts activity over the past month.

People who engaged in a creative pursuit scored higher in terms of happiness, life satisfaction and the sense that life is worthwhile, compared to folks who weren't involved in arts or crafts, the researchers found.

"The well-being effects were present even after we accounted for things like employment status and level of deprivation," Keyes said in a journal news release. "It seems that crafting can contribute positively to your well-being above and beyond these other aspects of your life."

Perhaps because many arts and crafts are done while alone, engagement didn't seem to affect people's levels of loneliness.

The study was only designed to show associations, so it could not prove cause and effect.

In her own life, Keyes said she's an avid devotee of DIY projects such as painting and decorating.

"There is certainly something immensely satisfying about seeing the results of your work appear before your eyes," she said. "It feels great to focus on one task and engage your mind creatively."

Policymakers might want to take guidance from the new findings, Keyes said.

"Governments and national health services might consider funding and promoting crafting, or even socially prescribing these activities for at-risk populations, as part of a promotion and prevention approach to well-being and mental health," she said.

More information

Find out more about the benefits of being creative at the American Psychiatric Association .

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