5 Hobbies to Take Up For Stress Relief

According to a recent Gallup poll, Americans are some of the most stressed-out people in the world, with over half stating they felt stressed the majority of the day prior to responding. Whether you feel stressed on a daily basis or occasionally, taking up a hobby can be an ideal way to reduce stress.

It can induce relaxation, allowing you to enter a flow state similar to meditation so that you can shut out worrisome thoughts, engaging fully in what you’re doing. These five hobbies in particular are some of the best to consider for stress relief.

Gardening

Gardening is a great way to relieve stress for a long list of reasons. It gets you outdoors in the sunshine, enjoying the fresh air. It’s a form of exercise that can relieve stress and help to promote mindfulness. Mindfulness is something that allows us to be in the moment, preventing our busy minds from focusing on our worries. Enjoy creating beauty, literally stopping to smell the flowers, perhaps feeling a gentle breeze and the rays of the sun against your skin. If you find this interesting, you can read more about gardening and tools you will need on sites like Garden Tool Shed.

You don’t have to have a big yard to garden for stress relief, either. Even if you just purchased a condo among Atlanta real estate without any yard at all, perhaps you have a patio, balcony or another space for container gardening.

Yoga

An ideal antidote to stress, yoga not only helps to keep muscles flexible and strong, it helps to build inner strength that allows you to better take on the challenges of life. A mind-body practice, it combines controlled breathing with physical poses that countless studies have shown to not only lower blood pressure and heart rate, but to ease stress. 

Journaling

While it may seem like a simple practice, journaling is an effective way to relieve stress as writing your thoughts down helps to process feelings and all those inevitable challenges we face on a day-to-day basis. It can help you see your struggles in a different light, creating a more positive frame of mind. If you suffer from anxiety, something common among those who are stressed, you should know that scientific research revealed that psychotherapy patients who wrote in a journal experienced greater progress and more significant reductions in anxiety as compared to those who didn’t.

Crafting

Taking up any kind of craft, whether it’s a form of art like painting, drawing, scrapbooking, quilting or even cake decorating, provides a great outlet for relieving stress. Anyone can learn how to do a simple craft, and if you really enjoy it you’ll be able to get into the “flow,” which not only lowers stress but can increase awareness and boost self-esteem.

Play an Instrument

Music is well-known to have many health and stress relief benefits. Just listening to it can ease stress – slow beats, in particular, are associated with meditative states as they encourage slow brainwaves. But creating music can be even more powerful. Like crafting, it takes your full attention while becoming a wonderful vehicle for creative expression.