Everybody needs healthy hobbies. You can’t just be all work and no play all the time! Research has shown that having healthy hobbies in our spare time improves our physical and mental health. It encourages our body to do activities even when we don’t have anything going on, which is important if we want to have emotional stability and joy in living.

So, if you feel like you need something new in your life, try incorporating these quick, easy, and healthy hobbies into your routine.

1. Reading

If you’re prone to anxiety attacks or depressive episodes, then reading books can provide a healthy escape for you. Reading can help distract you from negative thoughts by immersing you in a different world. It lets you feel seen through characters that might be going through the same problems you are—for example, if you’re struggling with work, reading a book about workplace life can be relatable to you. Lastly, it has numerous health benefits including stimulating the mind, preventing neurological diseases, and prolonging your lifespan.

There are numerous ways for you to start reading. If you don’t want to shell out money for new books, you can always start by going to your local library. They’ll have physical and possibly digital books for you to try. You can also use e-book platforms like Amazon or Audible to read books online or download audiobooks you can listen to while doing something else.

2. Meditating

Sitting on the floor and breathing might seem a tad boring at first, but you’d be surprised at how beneficial meditation is for your body. With every breath you take, you lower your blood pressure, decrease your heart rate, and feel the stress wash away your shoulders. Every thought or memory that’s bothering you should be brushed away in favor of focusing on yourself. Meditating, quite simply, lets your body be in its natural state without anything bothering it.

And like we said, meditating is super simple! All you need is some peace, quiet, and a timer set for five or ten minutes. Once you start that clock, hyperfocus on your breathing and nothing else. Forget about everything around you for a second and just focus on inhaling and exhaling.

This will not only help you destress, but also improve cognitive function by improving memory, lengthening attention span, and compartmentalizing emotions.

3. Heading Outdoors

We know how grating it can be to be told to go outside when we’re feeling down and lonely, but the great outdoors can do a lot of wonders for you. You get exposed to all that sunny Vitamin D which triggers a release of happy chemicals in the brain called endorphins. You end up feeling much happier and more satisfied!

There are lots of things you can do outside. If you’re alone, you can jog around your local park, head to the coffee shop for a bite to eat or buy produce at a farmer’s market. If you have children or pets, you can take them for walks, have a picnic, or visit the amusement park. When you’re with friends and family, you can go camping and relax at the beach.

You can do almost all healthy hobbies outdoors!

4. Practicing Yoga

Similar to meditation, yoga lets you focus on your breathing as well as do physical exercises that relax and soothe the muscles. Studies have shown that it activates your parasympathetic nervous system, which is the total opposite of your fight-and-flight system that goes haywire whenever you’re stressed.

Furthermore, it’s so easy to establish a routine with yoga. If you make it a habit, you have something to look forward to every day. This makes it so much quicker to bounce back when you’re feeling down. After all, you can’t just wallow in self-pity forever. You need to get back into a routine to go back to normal. And yoga is a low-impact activity with a lot of feel-good benefits.

Try yoga out for yourself by searching videos online. There are many yoga channels on YouTube that can get you started on your journey. Alternatively, you can sign up for a local yoga class so you won’t have to practice it alone.

5. Starting Art Projects

Scientific research has shown that creating visual art is good for our physical and mental health. It improves our attention span, increases our self-esteem, and relieves stress. So, try it out for yourself by investing in some art supplies and seeing where your imagination leads you. You can use colored pencils, paint, or crayons. You can even do other art projects that aren’t stereotypically artistic like cross stitching, cake decorating, or journaling!

Just remember that you shouldn’t worry about the result too much. Whether you like the finished product or not, what matters is the effort you put into it.

If doing art isn’t something you’re interested in, you can appreciate art other people have made. Visit your local art museum and be awed by the dazzling displays. Watch videos of people doing art and see their imagination come to life. Join a virtual tour of art museums around the world like the Louvre in Paris and the Guggenheim in New York City!