KELSEY ALPAIO: Hobbies.
They're often one of the first things
to go out the window when life gets busy,
but they shouldn't be.
We need to prioritize our hobbies just
as much as we prioritize work, because hobbies,
they make us better people.
One study from the Society of Behavioral Medicine
suggests that people who take part in leisure activities
have fewer negative emotions and are less stressed.
The study even found that our heart rates are literally lower
when we engage in our hobbies.
So over the last few weeks, I followed the science,
and I tried out for new hobbies that
are supposed to make me a better and more creative and happier
person.
I got eaten alive.
I just spilt all of this flour.
I think I'm just in like a really bad mood this morning.
My thoughts kind of started screaming at me
to try and do something else.
But did it actually work?
And will it work for you?
Let's find out.
If you want to be less stressed, try hiking.
I just got done with work and I drove to this trail that's
right near by my apartment.
I'm going to go for a short hike and just see how that makes
me feel after a long workday.
Apparently, there are a lot of benefits
to hiking or even just like walking around
your neighborhood.
According to the CDC, going for a walk
can help improve your sleep, your thinking, your learning,
all while reducing your symptoms of stress and anxiety.
All right, I'm back in my car.
I just finished my hike.
And I feel really, really good.
Like, seriously, the moment I stepped out on the trail,
just like, it smelt amazing, and the fresh air was great.
I think this is realistically a hobby that I
could do more frequently.
Next time, I will definitely wear bug spray,
because I got eaten alive.
This hobby may be for you if you often
find yourself needing to clear your head,
you have no extra money left in your budget,
but you do own a good pair of shoes,
and you're not afraid of bugs.
If you want to build self-esteem, try cooking.
It's gnocchi time.
Welcome to my kitchen.
I'm really excited to try out cooking as an actual hobby.
I am an adult, I eat food, and I have cooked for myself,
but I don't enjoy doing it.
So I'm just excited to try out a new recipe
and just have a little bit more fun with it.
So I know cooking doesn't sound like a hobby, kind of sounds
more like a chore, but there's apparently a lot more
to cooking than, well, cooking.
According to the Wall Street Journal,
some counselors encourage their patients
to take cooking classes, because following a recipe
can actually help you build self-esteem and curb
negative thinking.
All right, I did it, and I'm going
to take my first bite right now.
I loved my gnocchi.
And I kind of love this hobby.
So now that I am done, I feel good.
I feel really accomplished.
It definitely wasn't easy whatsoever.
I just spilt all of this flour--
no!
If I wanted to keep this hobby up,
it would be probably one of the most time-consuming ones.
And then of course, now I have all of this cleanup to do,
which is never fun.
But overall, I think it's worth it.
This hobby may be for you if you love dining out,
but your wallet doesn't, you are looking
to build a new skill that doesn't have to do with work,
and you want to impress all of your friends at a dinner party.
If you want to be happier, try journaling.
So I'm going to start gratitude journaling today.
My plan is to journal every morning before work
and write down three things that I'm grateful for that day.
Journaling has a ton of benefits, especially gratitude
journaling.
Research shows that practicing gratitude
can help you balance out your negative emotions.
When we express gratitude, our brains
release dopamine and serotonin, which
are two hormones that help us feel
happier and lighter inside.
So I just sat down to journal for the day,
and I was having a really hard time coming up
with three things that I feel grateful for.
I think I'm just in like, a really bad mood this morning.
So I looked up some prompts.
So I'm answering the question, what
am I better at today than I was a year ago?
It's easy to feel low and to not notice
the small or even big things in our lives that bring us joy.
Writing down things like, I love watching the birds
from my window as I work or I ate some delicious gnocchi
yesterday-- it really helped me remember
that there are a lot of things to be happy about.
So I really liked this hobby.
I think there was definitely days
where I didn't want to do it and it felt more
like homework or tours, which hobbies probably
shouldn't feel like that.
But on the days that I did do it, I felt a lot better.
This hobby may be for you if you don't
have a ton of time for your hobbies,
you tend to be naturally pessimistic,
and you have a whole shelf of journals just begging
to be used.
If you want to be more creative, try coloring.
Today, I'm going to be trying out coloring as my hobby.
I think it's going to be fun, I think
it's going to be relaxing.
I for some reason think I'm going to be bad at it.
I don't know why I think that, but let's
try it out and see what Happens
Doing something creative in your spare time,
it's supposed to help you be creative
in other parts of your life too.
One study at Drexel University found
that spending just 45 minutes on a creative activity
could boost your ability and confidence
to complete tasks at work.
I tried coloring while watching TV and listening to a podcast.
I even tried coloring while doing nothing else to try
and unlock that mindfulness component.
OK, so reporting back, I really like this hobby.
I thought that it was something that was really easy to do,
it didn't take a lot of brainpower.
But it did unlock that creative element of my mind.
I would say at points, I definitely
got bored, especially when I was coloring
without anything else going on.
My thoughts kind of started screaming at me
to try and do something else.
I think I'm really used to a lot of stimulation,
like kind of overload.
And so to sit in silence and color,
it's not really what I'm used to.
So it felt super weird.
But I guess that's probably why this is a good hobby for me.
This hobby may be for you if you want to do something creative
but you're not the most artistically inclined,
you need a hobby that will distract you
from doomscrolling all night, or if you have a favorite Crayola
crayon color.
Mine is Mac and Cheese.
Final verdict-- my favorite hobby out
of the ones that I tried was cooking,
which was super surprising to me, because cooking is normally
an activity that I dread doing every day.
But I think that's what made it so fun, right?
It was like taking a task that I normally hate doing and making
it fun and engaging.
And plus, it was delicious.
So I know the focus of this video
was on finding hobbies that could somehow benefit me
in other parts of my life, but I want
to share a reminder not just for you, but for me too,
that sometimes, it's OK for a hobby to just be that--
a hobby something.
That you love to do in your spare time.
I hope that you're making time for yourself
and for your hobbies too.
Thanks for watching.
I want to know-- did you try any of these hobbies?
Which was your favorite?
Let me in the comments or suggest some hobbies you
want me to try out next time.
OK bye.