Hobbies improve our health

Cooking, painting, or meditation are not only meant to good in your CV, but they also improve our health! People who put their hobbies into a routine, permanently reduce the level of stress and thus the risk of developing certain diseases, such as blood pressure complications or depression.

Anyone who has no hobbies to compensate for routine life is more likely to get sick from stress, be it with a real burnout or with constant infections. A hobby helps to switch off and reduce stress.

Sport as a hobby is particularly good. This is even scientifically proven because exercising burns off the excess adrenaline, which is known to be the stress hormone par excellence.

Doing work with your hands can also reduce your stress level. Why? Because manual work clears the head. A 2013 study of 3,500 subjects also found that manual work and cognitive skills are closely related: during the study, the more participants knitted, the better their brain activity was.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, petting animals lowers blood pressure, cholesterol and reduces the feeling of loneliness. Dogs have a positive effect on humans. Animals touch something inside us. Our well-being increases while stress levels ebb down. Randolph Barker of Virginia Commonwealth University has studied the impact that dogs in the office have on employees. The blood subjects were drawn to measure the concentration of stress hormones during the day. the blood containing the least amount of stress hormones were that of the employees who were allowed to take their four-legged companions to work. But even in the case of the dog-free subjects, the stress levels dropped. They also reported that they found the presence of their colleagues' dogs beneficial. This is because dogs have a similar effect in humans as babies: dealing with them stimulates the production of the happiness hormone, called oxytocin, in the human organism.

Cooking can be fun, but also requires patience and promotes a sense of time. Cooking together strengthens social skills. Beyond that, cooking also promotes psychomotor and cognitive abilities as well as enjoyment of food preparation and its consumption. According to studies, people who regularly bring home-made foods take 130 calories less per day than those who eat a lot. Another plus: cooking with your children reduces their risk of becoming obese.

Donate. According to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health, the act of donating lowers blood pressure reduces stress levels, prolongs life and has a positive effect on our mood. People who do not volunteer or donate have, according to the study, a 30 percent higher risk of dying from stress.

Gardening is good for stress and depression and has a relaxing effect. Studies have also found that gardening reduces the risk of dementia by about 40 percent. In addition, the movement keeps you physically fit. Another plus point: The spices and plants that you grow to make your self-cooked food even healthier!

Meditation has a positive effect on the health, well-being, concentration and overall performance of people. You can even integrate meditation into the workplace. As a means to increase satisfaction and reduce sickness, as well as to improve team spirit, performance, innovation and motivation of the most important asset of their business: the employees. Meditation is not only good for our mind and mood, it also has many positive effects on our body: for example, it improves digestion, lowers blood pressure, counteracts stress and relieves stress-related inflammation. Meditation, according to the Journal of Neuroscience, can even reduce physical pain by 27 percent and emotional pain by 44 percent. (Morphine only relieves pain by 22 percent.)

Drawing or painting has a positive effect on our mental health. Art therapy, for example, reduces stress, anxiety and helps to relax.

Time off from work reduces the risk of heart disease and depression. In addition, according to a study published in the journal "Psychosomatic Medicine," recreational activities lower blood pressure and the release of stress hormones.

That sounds very good and interesting. But reality looks different! A person spends more than a third of his waking hours at work! Naturally, you need to have a little family, but there is simply no time for hobbies.

Hobby workshops in the workplace? Could that be the solution?

As much as the work is fun, you just need recovery periods. It is important to finally change your mind in order to recharge your own batteries and clear your head. Just not thinking about work for a few minutes or even an hour is very relaxing. No one is able to concentrate 8 hours straight. When working for long hours without a break, the quality of work suffers. What should one do during these micro-breaks? What is the best way to increase productivity?

Creative workshops in the workplace allow employees to briefly break away from their professional and personal daily requirements and open up an appetite for hobbies. The people then return to their tasks in a more relaxed and focused manner. Through targeted placement, all employees are offered the opportunity to develop their physical, mental, social and emotional abilities.

More and more companies are becoming aware of their responsibility and understanding that they must contribute to health and well-being - physically as well as psychologically - in the workplace.

The key to a successful WHM program is the promotion of overall well-being. It is equally important that employees enjoy it.