Having hobbies make an individual happier

Question

A 2023 study of 93,000 people ages 65 or older found that those who said they had hobbies reported having better health, more happiness, fewer depression symptoms, and higher life satisfaction, com...

In this article, statistics did show that people tend to be a lot happier having an outlet to put their time and energy in. It keeps humans healthy, reduces loneliness and isolation, and although this study is observational, most people who have outlets seem happier.

Comments

Hobbies are an amazing thing to have in life and can contribute to happiness in some ways, but also it's not necessarily a proven fact that it will guarantee you'll be happier if you find hobbies. The article does state that the research wasn't an daily observational study but they surveyed the people every so many years.

Answer 1

They are making the claim that having hobbies makes an individual happier and after reading their article I believe this is true. They talk about a study done with 93,000 people 65 or older from 16 different countries. All had some health issues but those with hobbies reported having less depression symptoms and more happy. I also found multiple other resources backing up their claim, one from Harvard business https://hbr.org/2021/10/can-hobbies-actually-make-you-a-better-person where they also talk about when your stressed its very helpful to have a hobby to use as an outlet and overall it has a very positive impact.  An article by Neroscines also states "Engaging in hobbies and relaxation caused an 8% rise in well-being and a 10% reduction in stress and anxiety." https://neurosciencenews.com/hedonism-happiness-achievement-23923/. It can be hard for people to find a hobby they really love but when you do its shown they it does have many positive effects. 

Answer 2

This is true. There’s lots of research that shows having hobbies makes you feel healthier and better. “According to Kurtz, not many of us are legitimately super-busy; instead, we habitually waste time, creating the illusion of busyness”. Most college students' free time is limited. And we would like to enjoy that with her friends and watching TV. It’s hard for us to start new hobbies while we’re really busy. As a college student there are lots of things to get busy with such as organizations, internships, etc.  Around school and outside of school to be ready for your future. With all of that it’s hard to start new hobbies.

https://lifeandhealth.org/lifestyle/how-hobbies-make-you-happier-and-healthier/1411136.html

 

Answer 3

In the article linked above titled "Having a hobby tied to happiness and well-being" published by Harvard Medical School, author Heidi Godman lists several facts revolving the fact that hobbies lead to a better wellbeing. For example, she states that having a hobby could keep you socially connected which in turn helps with loneliness and isolation. Given the fact that this was posted by a credible source that uses reliable resources leads me to believe that that statements made are true. I did some further research on whether or not having hobbies made you happier and found sources that said similar things that were said in article posted by Harvard. The only thing I would say is misleading is that the claim leads the person to believe that hobbies lead to happiness which in fact is not a true fact. They can provide distractions or help you set goals but the fact that they will make you "happier" may not always be the case. But the article posted suggests that the study used for the article is observational and "doesn't prove that hobbies caused people to be healthy and happy".

Answer 4

The statement that having hobbies helps better your happiness, health, and more is true. Studies show that having a hobby and doing something overall to better your live is beneficial to your mental state. For example, in this article studies show that people with hobbies of ages 65 or older have a better mental state overall. This information can be backed up by the article "Hobbies for Happiness" doing something as simple as making videos, doing makeup, and more can help boost your happiness and overall better your life. You can even make money from some hobbies, which can help to better your life as well. 

https://www.birchpsychology.com/birchs-blog/2023/4/30/hobbies-for-happiness

Answer 5

this article states that having hobbies can make a individual be happier and healthy, which it can help better those things but it doesn't prove it totally takes away those problems. in a study done by Harvard health, they observed that people over the age of 65 and who had hobbies did have less mental health problems and more happiness. but the study is observational it doesn't totally prove that it does fix those problems. yes it definitely helps you have a more satisfactory life but it doesn't prove to fix everything.

Answer 6

The study was observational, so it can't conclusively prove causality, but it does suggest a meaningful link between hobby engagement and mental well-being. Importantly, the study adjusted for factors like income and marital status to ensure the robustness of its findings. The analysis also showed that hobby participation varied across countries, with higher engagement in nations with greater life expectancy and happiness levels compared to lower rates in places like China, where fewer respondents reported having hobbies.

This research supports the idea that hobbies could be a valuable tool in promoting mental health and life satisfaction, especially among older adults.

https://www.psychreg.org/hobbies-linked-lower-depression-levels-among-older-people/

Answer 7

This take is true but definitely relies on what each individual already has going on in their mental health lifestyle. Ciara McCabe has a great take on her article "The science behind why hobbies can improve our mental health" Where she states that "in fact research shows that having a hobby is linked to lower levels of depression and may even prevent depression for some". She linked not only the research that was done by Daisy Fancourt, Simon Opher and also Cesar de oliveira that was posted on the Karger psychotherapy and psychosomatics site under "fixed-effects analyses of time-varying associations between hobbies and depression in longitudinal cohort study: support for social prescribing?". Where researchers analyzed the mental health of several individuals when introducing more hobbies. 

The science behind why hobbies can improve our mental health

Fixed-Effects Analyses of Time-Varying Associations between Hobbies and Depression in a Longitudinal Cohort Study: Support for Social Prescribing?

Answer 8

Copied from my previous answer to a duplicate question:

After an extensive search, I found several other reputable articles and studies that conclusively reported a correlation between engaging in a hobby or leisurely activity and self-reported improvements in overall psychological, mental, and physical health. This includes medically reviewed reports from Harvard Medical School and the National Library of Medicine and international research studies conducted by Nature Medicine and a university research group in Lithuania.

All sources cite similarly structured data where researchers gathered information by mass distributing online or mail-in questionnaires throughout anywhere from 4 to 8 years. Nature Medicine conducted this in 16 countries, including the United States, Japan, China, and a dozen European nations. The Lithuanian university research team opted to stay more localized.

Participants would answer yes/no questions to self-report the state of their overall mood and health, and would periodically re-answer these questionnaires over time as they started and maintained a hobby or leisure activity of some sort. Some of these studies were conducted on elderly individuals, some of which had pre-existing health conditions. In contrast to those who reportedly did not participate in hobbies, those who did have a hobby reported feelings of better health and fewer symptoms linked to depression and poor mental health.

However, the majority of these sources acknowledge that these studies are purely observational data and were not met with sufficient control variables, which is a major limitation to the study's ability to conclusively connect the causality between leisure activity and psychological health, among other limitations in each study that may prevent a positive conclusion for the claim. In the words of these studies...

"[...]The study is observational and doesn't prove that hobbies caused people to be healthy and happy. But the researchers say hobbies — such as arts and crafts, games, gardening, volunteering, or participating in clubs — involve creativity, sensory engagement, self-expression, relaxation, and cognitive stimulation, which are linked to good mental health and well-being." - Harvard Medical School

"However, because these data were not assessed longitudinally after periods of stress or nonstress within person, further studies are necessary to determine whether or not these leisure activities truly restore individuals to baseline functioning after disruption by a stressful event." - National Library of Medicine

"The main limitation of our research is that it does not allow us to determine the exact causal relationship between the structure of [leisure physical activity] and health, well-being and healthy behaviour related indicators[...]" - Lithuanian graduate research group

TL;DR: Despite the extremely strong correlation between participation in hobbies and overall happiness and health, the studies used to back this claim are limited in their ability to conclude that specifically having a hobby is linked to the causation of being happier, a limitation that is credited to the fundamental downside of conducting very widespread surveys that collects self-reported data, which is susceptible to participation bias. There are a variety of other factors to consider, such as a geographical area's social culture surrounding certain hobbies, an individual's physical ability and response to certain activities, and the wide spectrum of psychological responses to any one hobby. These studies all similarly reported that while there is a correlation between hobbies and happiness, there is much more work needed to be done to supplement the current evidence to conclude the causality between the two.

Based on the results these studies report, it seems much safer to say that participating in a hobby that one enjoys may increase the likelihood of better moods and psychological health. The benefits linked to a good hobby or activity can be individually linked to positive health attributes, but the sources do not seem to be able to link an A to B causation relationship over a trickling down of positive effects that stem from good circumstances.

In short, correlation does not equal causation. For now, at least.

The human mind is a mystery indeed.

Harvard Medical School article

Medically reviewed study from the National Library of Medicine

Nature Medicine international study report

Peer-reviewed study from a Lithuanian research group

Answer 9

The main claim of this article is that having a hobby is linked to happiness and well-being. The article comes from Harvard Healthing Publishing but the original source of this study is from Nature Medicine. The author of this article Heidi Godman has produced numerous other articles which makes her a reliable author. This content is older, although it was produced this year in January. I have found that many other media outlets are reporting on this same topic with the same general facts and information. The article has added a photo to dramatize the affects the hobby has on your well-being but overall it relates to the article’s study. I think that the text seems well balanced and wants to produce helpful information, rather than an opinion. The headline is very to the point and describes exactly what the article is about.