Reading lesson: Benefits of Hobbies

Walk into any craft store and you can get an idea about the large range of hobbies that exist, everything from collecting baseball cards to building model airplanes. These free time activities are relaxing and satisfying, but people have to find time in their busy lives to do them.

Now, scientists are finding that having hobbies is really good for your health, even if you barely lift a finger to do them.

Doctors say that hobbies stimulate the feel-good area of the brain. They also sharpen your focus, help you think more clearly, and enhance your creativity. When you are really enjoying a hobby, you lose your sense of time. You enter a flow-state that restores your mind and energy.

That results in a high level of concentration which helps you do other, more boring tasks, in a better way.

Hobbies make people feel good about themselves. After all, managing complex projects such as building a ship-in-a-bottle or sewing a quilt is a big success. You may be feeling inadequate in other parts of your life. So, the lesson is evident. We would all perform better, and feel wonderful about ourselves if someone would pay us to spend 40 hours a week to work on our hobbies, and squeeze in work whenever we have a free moment.

One psychiatrist in Florida noted that this high level of concentration causes your brain to release chemicals that make you feel happy. These chemicals are called endorphins and dopamine. When you feel happy, you become more emotionally and intellectually motivated.