Shea Simmons
Everyone has their own routine, but you may need to update yours. Turns out, hobbies may be the secret to brain longevity. If you’ve been considering pick up something, now may be the time (and not just because of social distancing).
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of South Florida, looked at 732 people, ages 34 to 84, and seven of their different daily activities: time spent on the job (paid work), time spent with children, daily chores, leisure activities, physical activity, volunteering, and providing informal help. Over eight days, each participant was asked if they did any of the seven. Depending on the frequency of participation in each activity, they were given a diversity score.
Fast forward 10 years later, and the same participants were surveyed again about their habits, but this time, their mental clarity was also measured in a separate set of tests.
The result? Findings suggested that those who practiced a wider variety of hobbies over time have much better mental fitness than those who did not.
If this doesn’t seem so shocking to you, Ladders does note that there have been other studies conducted in the past that found similar results. However, the new University of South Florida survey linked the consistency of those activities over the years to improved mental clarity.
The next time you see a knitting tutorial or a how-to video on woodworking, you may just want to click on it.
