The Importance of Hobbies

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I always ask my patients about their hobbies. Sometimes they wonder why. The answer is that it tells me a great deal about my patients to know what things they enjoy doing in their off time. In addition, health is often improved by having a hobby of some kind. Finally, sometimes my patients will have health conditions that can impair their hobbies, and how I treat them will depend heavily on the things that are most important to them.

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First, let’s talk about the health benefits of hobbies. I particularly like learning new hobbies or new things as time goes on. I took up the guitar in my 30s and got more serious about it as I went on. Anything new that we learn as we get ”older” is actually protective for our neurological health particularly against diseases like Alzheimer’s as well as other causes of elder dementia. Essentially, learning new things helps the brain develop new connections, just like children do, as we get older. This means that even if we were to develop some form of dementia, our neurological function would be preserved due to our increased overall number of neural connections.

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What other kinds of hobbies can be protective? Any kind of artistic hobby like painting, dancing, sculpting or writing can be protective. Additionally, participating in social groups, book clubs, reading, all can be protective. And, comforting for our modern lifestyle, so can participating in online activities like surfing the Internet, or using the computer to do new things. Learning a new language is a great hobby to add in mid to later life. In addition, continuing to speak additional languages you learned earlier life is also helpful.

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Any hobby that gets you engaged in physical activity is great, both for physical and mental health. Even better is hobby which engages you in physical activity along with socialization. This can include running clubs, walking clubs, bicycle clubs, and even just having regular time and days to go surfing with old friends. Since social connection is such an important part of our mental health, and depression is often mistaken for dementia, any activity that maintains our strength of social connection is extremely important to maintaining top mental functioning throughout life.

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Now, the next question might be why it is so important for a doctor to know about hobbies? Well, if I know that a patient is an expert pianist or even an aspiring expert pianist, I know that is extremely important to protect the health of their hands and arms. I know that if they were to have, say, a stroke, that their physical therapy should focus not just on getting them up and walking and talking, but also helping them to remaster their fine motor control and connection between that and the part of the brain where their music lives. Or, what if I have a patient with diabetes who is an avid scenery painter? I can use that love of painting to encourage them to better manage their diabetes to protect their vision for later in life.

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Sometimes, a hobby can give me an idea of what might be going on with the patient. A patient who is a sculptor and works in metals might be experiencing fatigue or vomiting. A few questions about what chemicals they’re using on the weekends can help me sort out whether they might have been exposed to a toxin causing their symptoms. Or, alternatively, a patient who has no hobbies may well be somebody who is deeply depressed but otherwise disguising it well. Digging deeper into what patients do and don’t enjoy on their off time can often help me work out ways of helping them to improve their mental, emotional and physical health.

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Finally, artistic people can have both protective aspects of their art as well as being more subject to some mental health conditions due to their artistic nature. Sometimes just knowing whether somebody is more artistic or more linear in their thinking can help me craft an explanation or plan which they will understand and use better than one which might work well for someone else but not them. On the other hand, if someone has a hobby of tinkering in their garage on electronics, chances are they are more left brained and explaining things in a very linear or sequential way will be more helpful to them.

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While people are certainly not their hobbies, hobbies do tell me a lot about them. Knowing what they’re doing in their off time gives me an opportunity to encourage them towards learning new things or developing hobbies. Furthermore, it gives me an overview of their life at home and how to better manage, with them, their health conditions.

As always if you have any questions, or want to know more about how you can start a new hobby, please feel free to call me at 760-425-4466 or email me at DrEdwards@wowhealingcare.com.