doodlehobbies

WHAT THE RESEARCH SAYS

Make time for
the thing you love.

Hobbies are not a luxury. They go with a happier, healthier life.

Large studies link having a hobby with fewer depressive symptoms and higher life satisfaction. The catch is keeping it going. Here is what the evidence says about both, in plain English.

Plain English, with the sources linked.

Questions this page answers

A sunlit wooden table with a watercolour sketchbook of flowers, a paint tin, brushes in a jar, teal knitting and a cup of tea, with a hand painting
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

66 DAYS to stick, on average

  • Pick what you enjoy
  • Start small
  • Keep coming back
  • Progress, not perfection

THE SHORT ANSWER

Good for mood, mind and body.

Studies of thousands of people link enjoyable
pastimes with feeling and functioning better.

MOOD

Happier, more satisfied

Across 16 countries, older adults with a hobby reported fewer depressive symptoms and higher life satisfaction.

See the study

MIND

Lost in the moment

Being completely absorbed in something for its own sake is what psychologists call flow.

What is flow?

HABIT

It takes longer than you think

A new routine took 66 days on average to become automatic. A missed day did not matter much.

Make it stick

A QUICK HOBBY CHECK

What does your
hobby give you?

The NHS describes five steps to mental wellbeing: connect with others, be physically active, learn new skills, give to others and pay attention to the present moment. Pick a hobby to see which steps it naturally touches.

Hobby check

Choose a hobby
Singing in a choir3 of 5 steps

Rehearsing with others is a way to connect, every new piece is something to learn, and holding your part takes full attention.

Gardening3 of 5 steps

Digging and weeding keep you moving, each season teaches you something, and tending plants rewards noticing small changes.

Learning to paint2 of 5 steps

The NHS names learning to paint as an example of a new skill. Looking closely at what you paint is a form of paying attention.

Joining a running club2 of 5 steps

A club combines being physically active with regular company. Volunteering at events would add giving.

Cooking for friends3 of 5 steps

Learning to cook something new is one of the NHS examples, and sharing it is a way to connect and to give.

Steps: NHS, Five steps to mental wellbeing.

This is our own illustration of the NHS steps, not a score. Any hobby you enjoy is a good one.

TWO STUDIES WORTH KNOWING

The benefit is real,
the habit takes time.

One study shows why a hobby is worth it,
the other how long it takes to settle in.

93,263 people

Older adults followed for 4 to 8 years

In 16 countries, people aged 65 and over who had a hobby reported fewer depressive symptoms, more happiness and better self-reported health. The strongest link was with life satisfaction. The study was observational, and the link may run both ways.

WHY IT HELPS · 2023

66 on average

Days until a new daily behaviour felt automatic

The range ran from 18 days to a predicted 254 days. Missing a single day had little effect, though many missed days added up did lower how automatic the behaviour became.

HOW LONG IT TAKES · 2010

Neither study proves a hobby will change your life on its own. Together they suggest it is worth starting, and worth being patient with.

MAKE IT STICK

Four ways to keep
a hobby going.

  • Choose for enjoyment

    The NHS says the best approach is to choose activities you enjoy. Pick the thing you look forward to, not the one you think you should do.

  • Start smaller than you think

    Ten minutes of sketching or a single row of knitting still counts. A small step you repeat is easier to keep than a big one you dread.

  • Do not panic over a missed day

    In the 2010 habit study, one missed day made little difference. Just pick it up again the next day.

  • Give it two months, not two weeks

    The average was 66 days before a new routine felt automatic. If it still feels like effort at week three, that is normal.

Soil-dusted hands pressing a young seedling into a terracotta pot on a wooden potting bench
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

HOBBY FACTS

Five things worth
knowing.

Clay-covered hands shaping a small bowl on a spinning pottery wheel, with unglazed pots on a shelf behind
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

  1. Life satisfaction showed the strongest link

    In the 2023 study of 93,263 older adults, having a hobby was linked to several measures of wellbeing, and most strongly to life satisfaction.

  2. How common hobbies are varies a lot

    In the same study, 96% of older people in Denmark reported a hobby, against 51% in Spain.

  3. Enjoyable pastimes and the body

    A 2009 study of 1,399 adults aged 19 to 89 found that people who did more enjoyable leisure activities had lower blood pressure, cortisol, waist size and BMI on average.

  4. Flow has a name

    The psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi coined "flow" for being completely immersed in an activity for its own sake. His book on it was published in 1990.

  5. There is more free time than it feels

    In 2015, the ONS estimated UK men had about 6 hours 9 minutes of leisure time a day and women about 5 hours 29 minutes.

QUICK QUESTIONS

Hobbies, answered.

Short answers to the questions people ask most.

Are hobbies good for your mental health?

A 2023 study in Nature Medicine followed 93,263 people aged 65 and over in 16 countries for 4 to 8 years. Having a hobby was linked to fewer depressive symptoms, more happiness and higher life satisfaction. It was observational, so it cannot prove that hobbies caused the difference.

How long does it take for a new hobby to become a habit?

In a 2010 study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, a new daily behaviour took 66 days on average to become automatic, with a range from 18 days to a predicted 254 days. Expect weeks or months, not days.

Does missing a day ruin a new habit?

No. In the same 2010 study, missing a single day had little effect on how automatic the behaviour later became. Many missed days added up did lower the level people reached, so the aim is to get back to it, not to be perfect.

Does it matter which hobby I choose?

The NHS lists learning new skills as one of five steps to mental wellbeing, with examples such as learning to cook, taking up a new sport or learning to paint. It says the best approach is to choose activities you enjoy.

How much free time do people in the UK actually have?

The Office for National Statistics estimated that in 2015 men in the UK had about 6 hours 9 minutes of leisure time a day and women about 5 hours 29 minutes, with much of it spent on TV, music and reading.

Sources

Where the facts come from

  1. Hobbies linked to lower depression levels among older people (Mak et al., 2023)University College London
  2. How to form a habit (Lally et al., 2010)British Psychological Society
  3. Enjoyable leisure activities and well-being (Pressman et al.)Psychosomatic Medicine, 2009
  4. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and flowAssociation for Psychological Science
  5. 5 steps to mental wellbeingNHS
  6. Leisure time in the UK: 2015Office for National Statistics

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