Improve our mental health: how paint by numbers can change daily routine [Study]

Our mental health has been a subject that is increasingly talked about and valued (thankfully).

The pandemic has been affecting the mental health of many people, many may understandably be feeling more lonely, anxious and depressed than normal. The World Health Organization (WHO) has even released guidelines on how people can take care of their mental health during this difficult period. The main pieces of advice include trying to maintain a regular pattern of eating, sleeping, hygiene and exercise.

A less obvious but extremely fundamental recommendation is to ensure that you still find time to do the things you love.

In fact, research shows that having a hobby is linked to lower levels of depression - and can even be a form of prevention.

• 20 minutes

A study shows that those who engage in leisure activities for at least 20 minutes once a week are less susceptible to fatigue. These activities were also correlated with higher levels of positive psychosocial states and lower levels of depression and negative effect.

Ultimately, it is worth exploring the benefits of hobbies, both psychological and physical. Painting improve cognitive abilities and motor coordination. This reduce the need of medication for depression and other stress-related disorders.

• Taking a Break

Hobbies provide a slice of work-free and responsibility-free time in your schedule. This can be especially welcome for people who feel overwhelmed by all that they have to do and need to recharge their batteries by doing something they enjoy.

Painting different patterns helps adult keep focused on the present moment, similar to that of meditation.

• Do you know Eustress?

For those who aren’t overly stressed and may actually be under-stimulated, hobbies provide a nice source of eustress, the healthy kind of stress that we all need to remain feeling excited about life.

If the rest of your life is somewhat dull or uninspiring, hobbies can provide meaning and fun and can break up a boring schedule without feeling like work. In other words, hobbies can provide just the right amount of challenge.

In painting by numbers approach, completion of a picture can provide a great sense of achievement. Thus, improving self-confidence and inspire creation.

• Gratifications

Also from positive psychology, gratifications are important activities that bring meaning and fun to life. Gratifications can lead to a reduction in stress and sense of well-being hobbies are usually experienced as gratifications. if you want more happiness fewer experiences your life provide direct route gratifications that this.

• Avoiding Burnout

Some research shows that those who are in stressful jobs that normally contribute to burnout (low-control, high-demand jobs, for example) feel less of a need to "recover" from their day at bedtime if they have more physical or social leisure activities that aren’t work-related—or in other words, more hobbies. In this study, those who had a need to "recover" at bedtime were more likely to suffer from negative health and wellness outcomes like psychosomatic complaints and fatigue.

Step by step painting process helps to cultivate one’s patience and the emphasis on small details.

So even though we may not feel motivated in the beginning to spend time on a hobby, once we start it and feel the associated pleasure, this will kick-start our reward system and subsequently our motivation to do it again. Alongside pleasure and motivation, hobbies can also bring other benefits. Physical hobbies can, of course, improve your fitness, and others can even improve your brain function. So if you’re feeling lower than normal during the pandemic, perhaps try to find time to re-engage with some hobbies that you may have enjoyed in the past – or try new ones.