Sewing is Good For You

I’ve suspected for a while that sewing might be good for you. Now it’s official. Sewing actually has health benefits.

We know that it’s important to make time to do things that matter to us and that make us happy. Doing something you enjoy makes you feel less stressed, which then makes you more productive in other areas of your life.

I know myself that an hour spent sewing is usually an hour well spent. Sometimes it’s as good as having a nap! It makes me feel happier, calmer, less tired and more inclined to do all the other stuff I need to do.

Now studies have been done that show that sewing is good for you.

Sewing Helps Your Mental Health

Being creative makes your brain release dopamine, which is a chemical that makes you feel happy.

Concentrating on something like sewing, knitting or painting also causes your brain to make different brain waves that make you feel good.

Doing something craft related that requires your full concentration allows a person to escape their worries for a little while.

Making something can also boost a person’s confidence.

In this article, experts talk about how crafty pursuits can be used not just to make people feel a bit better or a bit less stressed, but as part of ongoing treatment for ailments such as depression and PTSD.

Sewing is also thought to reduce mild cognitive impairment, the memory loss that often comes with old age. This article in The Telegraph mentions a study carried out among elderly people at a clinic in Minnesota. It was discovered that the people who regularly did something craft related were 73 percent less likely to report memory or thinking difficulties. This included people who had a social element to their crafting as well.

So crafting can keep your brain active, which in turn can help to relieve stress and other mental health issues, and it might help us to keep our all our marbles for a bit longer.

Sewing Helps Your Physical Health

Our mental health impacts on our physical health, but aside from this, sewing is good for you physically too.

Sewing helps to keep hand eye coordination and fine motor skills sharp.

Sewing and other craft activities helps people to relax. This in turn can help to reduce blood pressure.

Sewing has even been reported to help with insomnia and indigestion and with relief from pain.

The health beneifts of sewing are all summed up nicely in this infographic from Terry’s Fabrics (affiliate link).

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Health Benefits of Sewing by Terrys Fabrics.

As sewing is good for you, we should probably do more of it :).

Linking up here.