Having a hobby is the secret to happiness after 65

Take a dance class, join a book club, garden, volunteer and much more. Having a hobby is the secret that leads older individuals to live with greater happiness and, above all, fewer depressive symptoms.

This is what emerges from a study published in the magazine Nature Medicine which involved more than 90,000 elderly individuals in Europe, Japan, China and the United States. An investigation, as reported News Medical Life Sciences, which highlighted how having a hobby was linked to fewer depressive symptoms and more happiness in those interviewed, all over the age of 65.

“Our study shows the potential of hobbies to protect older people from mental decline and promote well-being,” Karen Mak, a senior research fellow in epidemiology and statistics at University College London and lead author of the study, said in a statement. «Hobbies can contribute to a satisfying life in later years through many mechanisms, including control of our minds and bodiesthe search for purpose in life and the feel competent in dealing with certain daily issues“, explains.

In Northern Europe the most “active” elderly

However, the percentage of individuals with a hobby differs depending on the country. In Spain, 51% of study participants said they had a hobby, compared to 96% in Denmark and 95.8% in Sweden.
The lowest participation in hobbies was found in China: Only 37.6% of study participants said they had one, although the researchers explained that respondents were only asked about social hobbies.

A two-way relationship

The study found that there are benefits to having a hobby in all countries studied. But also that people with a hobby were mostly those in countries with better life expectancy and higher levels of national happiness.

«The work suggests that the relationship between hobbies and well-being may be bidirectional: people with better mental health may be more likely to engage in a hobby and, at the same time, cultivating a hobby may help maintain better life satisfaction », added Mak.

A limitation of the study is that it was an observational analysis and therefore did not demonstrate a causal link between having a hobby and reduction in depressive symptoms. However, with the aging of the population in Europe and around the world, there is growing interest in how hobbies can help improve the mental health of individuals over 60. And it is good to take these results into consideration also with a view to urge politicians to promote access to hobbies among older peopleas a further way to promote their well-being and health.