The Health and Mental Benefits of Crafting

In today's world, there are more than enough things that bring stress upon us. On an average day, we have to deal with traffic during our commute, deadlines at work, and even deciding what to eat for dinner (a small, but seemingly insurmountable task sometimes). Then there are bigger life complexities hovering over us such as if this job is indeed what you want to be doing with your life and the proverbial "love life". Everybody has to deal with these in some way or fashion, and most people have their vice to help them deal with it. For many it's exercise, for others its partying, traveling can help escape the routine, and then there is crafting.

The voluntary mental focus applied while crafting and sense of accomplishment when finished, provide emotions that can be hard to attain when cycling through the daily routine. Sure partying can take your mind off things and be a lot of fun, but it doesn't exactly give you that warm and fuzzy feeling the morning after. Traveling can be exhilarating, but for many of us, it's just not that feasible to do on a regular basis. On the other hand, crafting can be done in the comfort of your home, whenever you want, and with our craft kits you don't even need to go out and gather all the materials needed:). There have been numerous reports on how effective crafting can be for stress-relief, check them out here, here, and here.

Not only can crafting help lower your stress and get your mind off things, but there are also other health benefits attributed to crafting.

1) Improve your Mood

Whether you are by yourself, crafting with your significant other, or having a craft party, activating those creative juices can be a great mood enhancer. When you craft with other people, it can turn into a genuinely fun social affair. Even after you finish, the sense of pride you'll have when people ask you about your piece can turn a frown upside-down.

2) Boost your Brainpower

The focus required while crafting is an effective way to exercise the brain for people of all ages. There have been many studies done that connect the reduced chances of mental deterioration over time with crafting. Also, crafting activates areas of the brain that are not as active during the routine work you may be used to.

3) Increase Social Activity & Communal Support

Crafting provides a unique social atmosphere where not only are you focusing on your craft, but you are connecting with the people you are crafting with. Crafting promotes natural conversation through the pieces you are creating and the questions and answers that come along with it. It is a unique date idea as well as a great activity to plan a party around.

4) Helps with Hand-Eye Coordination

Whether you are doing a large woodworking project or doing a delicate dream catcher, careful hand-eye coordination is required. For many of us who have office jobs, we don't get to use out hands and make something as often as we would like, crafting gives us a way to use those hands for something else besides typing. We learn our hand-eye coordination early in life with crafting in kindergarten, now we can maintain our skills and dexterity throughout our lives with crafting.  

5) Can Help Fight Aging

Whether it be mentally through the focus and brainpower that crafting requires or physically by the improvement in visual-spatial coordination crafting helps with, crafting can help turn back the clock. Also, the social element when crafting with other people can aid keeping your conversation and social skills at their highest levels.

All-in-all, crafting can help our moods, hand-eye coordination, social skills, and even brainpower. Check out our craft kits today to find one that is right for you and your friends.