Which hobbies make you the happiest
Published on 15 January 2020 By Admin 3 min read
Having a hobby means different things for different people, for many they offer an effective way to destress, and take some time away from the bustle of everyday life. It’s usually the case that people partake in a hobby because it brings them a sense of enjoyment, which they don’t get from other parts of their lives. So, we decided to delve deeper into the hobbies that make people the happiest and most mindful!
We asked 5,000 members of the public from across the UK to rank a number of popular lifestyle hobbies by how happy and mindful each one makes them, 10 being very, 1 being not at all. On average, Baking came out on top, followed by knitting (our personal favourite!), and photography.
Many will take part in these types of hobbies because they’re therapeutic and help you to de-stress. However, each can come with their own stresses, particularly baking (The Great British Bake Off show has brought a bead of sweat to many a brow), so it’s interesting to see that the ‘happiest hobby’ is actually one that involves an element of pressure.
The top ten ‘happiest’ hobbies are:
- Baking
- Knitting
- Photography
- Journaling
- Upcycling
- Gardening
- Clothes-making
- Cross-stitch
- Playing a musical instrument
- Reading
Our research also uncovered some interesting motivations behind taking part in a hobby…
When asked ‘Why do you enjoy your chosen hobby’, more than half of respondents (53%) said it relaxes them, one in five participants (21%) said it boosts their self esteem and 6% answered it gives them a sense of achievement.
On top of this, two thirds of Brits (65%) say they continue their hobbies because learning and maintaining a skill is important to them.
When we broke the research results down by location we discovered that the cities of Brighton and Bristol had the most crafters who enjoyed upcycling and clothes-making. Knitting and photography made people the happiest in the Northern cities of Manchester and Leeds.
When it comes to other hobbies on the list, Londoners said baking and playing an instrument made them the happiest, whilst people in Oxford got the most enjoyment from gardening.
Our research also found that indoor hobbies have grown in popularity in comparison to more physical activities, such as playing a sport, with three quarters (77%) of respondents stating they preferred partaking in a hobby in their own home.
As well as wanting their own space, there’s also an emerging trend of hobbyists wanting to take part in their activities by themselves to indulge in some ‘me time’, with more than a third of participants (35%) opting for a solo hobby in the last three years - we expect this to become a big trend over the next few years!
“I hope our research inspires some members of the public to try out something a bit creative, that maybe they wouldn’t have considered before. You never know, they might discover a hidden talent!”
Edward Griffith, Founder of LoveCrafts.com, said,
“Life is already a balancing act, some people might wonder why you would want to pursue hobbies on top of that. However, there are so many benefits to taking up a hobby, with science substantiating the positive impact they have both physically and mentally. Some are obvious, but there are also hidden benefits, like the opportunity to practice mindfulness and make new friends.
“I hope our research inspires some members of the public to try out something a bit creative, that maybe they wouldn’t have considered before. You never know, they might discover a hidden talent!”
*During this survey LoveCrafts asked 5,000 members of the British public to answer questions relating to their favourite lifestyle hobbies. For the purpose of the survey, sports were not included as part of the ‘lifestyle hobbies’ category.
