Quit Stalling With These 17 New Year Hobbies for Better Health

Research supports that regular leisure activities can reduce blood pressure, cortisol, or stress levels and even decrease your BMI. Leisure activities can include different hobbies that challenge you, excite you, and may even make you sweat a little.

In addition, hobbies can help you make money, increase your home value, allow you to serve others, and even improve your mindfulness. Mindfulness helps reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, cope with stress, and reduce worry.

This list of hobbies can help you figure out what you are passionate about and how you would like to spend your spare time. Number 26 is an epic hobby you will not want to skip over!

List of Hobbies

1. Painting Furniture

Painting furniture is a growing trend and a side hustle for many people. It is a popular hobby and a potentially profitable one as well.

Check your local selling markets, such as Facebook Marketplace, Offer Up, eBay Local, etc., to see if the market is saturated or if there is room for you to profit from your hobby.

2. Art Projects

Creating art looks different for everyone, but enjoying the process and the final piece is an essential part of it. For example, painting, coloring, drawing, creating wreaths, making cards, etc.

3. Make Cards

Purchase yourself a Cricut tool to up your card-making game. You can create unique designs and cutouts and add vinyl letters, pictures, and more. You can also go old school and use stamps, trace designs, and paint designs on them.

4. Paint By Numbers

You can purchase canvases with numbers on them where you use them as a guide to paint a picture of your choosing.

5. Water Aerobics

Water aerobics may only sound appealing to specific individuals, but not every hobby is meant to suit every demographic.

Working out in the water takes a strain off your joints if you are prone to joint pain or muscle soreness. It is also a great way to stay cool while you are burning calories, boosting your serotonin, and it’s an opportunity to make some new friends.

6. Learn A New Skill

You can go in person to workshops or online and learn new skills such as woodworking, sewing, painting, cooking, and more.

7. Take a Course

You can take a nutrition course or obtain your training certification. You can obtain a certificate that can be useful for your health, and you can help others. Get a technology certification, marketing, business, and learn to improve your confidence or negotiation skills.

8. Rock Climbing

Find a local rock climbing place, or some gyms have rock climbing walls you can try.

9. Scuba Diving

You can take scuba diving lessons or become certified to do more diving on your own. Of course, starting you must go with a professional diver for safety reasons, but you can see the earth seaside. The incredible sensation of swimming with all the fish and ocean life can give you something to look forward to every week or every few weeks.

10. Surfing

Surfing is challenging physically, but it is beneficial for your health physically and mentally. Starting with doing it for even 30 minutes at a time can allow you to reap the benefits of exercising without your typical gym and weight setting.

11. Make Bread

You can purchase sourdough kits and make your own healthier versions. Look for a local cooking class to see when their next bread-making class is.

You can also purchase a bread maker that you can use at home to bake your loaf of bread. This hobby has many benefits, including saving you money on your grocery bill.

12. Serve The Community

Many individuals need help in the community, ranging from childcare to having someone to listen to them or cooking them a meal. Find local organizations that need help or go online and see if there are events you can attend to help those in need.

This hobby can be enriching and assist you and others feel good. It’s also worth flagging a TED talk by Johann Hari highlighted the role your community and the willingness to integrate yourself into that community can have a profound, benefit impact to your mental health.

13. Volunteer At a Church

Similar to serving in your community, this can be a rewarding hobby if you have a church or religious affiliation that could use some extra help. You just don’t know whose life you may impact and dramatically change!

14. Volunteer For a Hotline

You can volunteer at hotlines and crisis centers to be a voice when someone calls and needs someone to talk to.

15. Knitting, Sewing, or Crocheting

Making your clothes, pillows, curtains, and scarves can be something fun to learn. It can also help you add new additions to your wardrobe and allow you to customize your attire perfectly to your style.

16. Take Dance Classes

Join a dance group or class and learn a variety of dances with a group or do personalized lessons with an instructor.

17. Learn How to Play An Instrument

You can be self-taught, watch videos or courses online, or attend lessons. Singing can be fun and calming; you can join an acapella, choir, or show choir. So whether it’s guitar, cello, or using your voice to make music, there are many ways to learn this new hobby.

Final Word

Lockdown, the holidays and the stress of the rising cost of living, Americans have weathered a lot over the last few years. In response, there has been a raised awareness of the importance of mental health.

While mindfulness meditation is an obvious antidote to these stresses and is best done in a serene environment sitting or lying down and focusing on your breathing and the present moment. However, all these activities offer a relief from anxiety and depression but like any habit though, they’re best done often and consistently.