Knitting is a happy activity. With this, it’s not shocking to know that crafters get addicted to it. This hobby has less pressure because knitters can do it in their spare time, and they have control over how much or how less they can do. What is also good to know is knitting is a craft that people of all ages and backgrounds can do.
Knitting also has a particular effect on a human’s brain and mental health, which makes it addictive. It has benefits that we can all enjoy while we knit, and this article will explore more.
What Happens to Your Brain When You Knit?
Knitting is a pastime that can benefit our brain and mental health. Many types of research showed that knitting has benefits in helping develop the human brain. This hobby is also helpful for the cognitive development of all ages, from kids to adults and older people.
Let’s take a closer look at what happens to our brains when we knit:
- Knitting keeps a person sane: Knitting helps balance a person’s mind and makes the brain feel saner. Knitting gives a relaxing feeling when it’s done, and it’s helpful to keep our sanity in check.
- Knitting helps with stress relief: When people knit, their brains are in a relaxed state. This is because there is an increase in some of your brain waves. These brain waves put our minds in a relaxed and happy state. When you feel happy and relaxed, you’ll have less stress. Knitting feels like a destresser for most knitters.
- Knitting enhances people’s problem-solving skills: Starting to learn how to knit already requires problem-solving skills. Learning patterns can challenge our minds on how we should put the knots together. Changing patterns can do this to our brains as well. Practicing knitting is also a way to apply these problem-solving skills.
- Knitting also makes people socialize better: Knitting is an activity done alone or with others. Professional knitters either teach knitting classes or run a knitting supplies shop, both needing social skills. There are also knitting communities where people share the same love for the hobby.
- Knitting gives a sense of accomplishment: It is not simple to learn how to knit since understanding knots and other techniques takes a lot of effort, time, and practice. This is why knitters feel so accomplished whenever they reach a goal. After much practice, finishing a small piece can also make you feel accomplished. You can also give your finished knitted pieces as gifts for your friends and family.
Elderly people who knit benefit from the hobby because it can help them keep their brains sharp even with their age. A study shows that knitting is an activity that can help older people to avoid developing dementia and other mind-related diseases. This is because their minds are working, and they feel challenged from time to time.
Knitting is also beneficial in maintaining your hand and eye coordination. You need both skillful hands and sharp eyes whenever you knit. As you keep on practicing and knitting, you not only train your brain with coordination, but you also maintain your motor skills.
Is Knitting a Talent or Skill?
Knitting is a learned skill. The first step in learning how to knit is to study the basics. Then, you can study the patterns to create a piece. You need to study this hobby to become a skillful knitter.
This hobby can also teach people some important life skills like:
- Problem-solving: There are some instructions on patterns that are hard to understand. This is one of the moments where your problem-solving skills are necessary.
- Multi-tasking: Some knitters do not like to do knitting alone in their free time. They will either play some episodes of their favorite TV shows or listen to a relaxing playlist while knitting.
- Patience: Trust us when we say it takes a lot of patience to get there and be the knitter you want to be. Knots and patterns can be very confusing on your first few tries, but when you keep on practicing with patience, you’ll become a successful knitter.
- Basic Math: When you knit, you use very simple number-related skills like counting and addition for the measurements needed in the patterns.
- Determination: It takes a lot of determination to continue in this hobby. If you’re a beginner, we encourage you to keep persevering with knitting! It will be worth it while you keep on practicing and learning.
- Money saving: When you finally know how to create clothing like socks, hats, scarves, and even sweatshirts through knitting, you will appreciate how much you can save in your next clothes shopping. Just imagine the money you can spend elsewhere because knitting helps you save more on clothing!
While this is more of a learned skill, knitting can also be a talent, depending on how you can interpret patterns and their instructions. You may also have the talent to improve the patterns and the process of how well you can finish putting a piece together.
Can You Be Addicted to Knitting?
Knitting is an addictive hobby but not in a negative way. Psychological studies show that knitting has addictive qualities. When a knitter becomes addicted to knitting, this can also replace other negative addictive behavior.
If you’re worried about spending too much time knitting or if you’re starting to suspect that you’re addicted to it, here are some of the signs you can watch out for:
- You have a huge yarn collection in every color and material.
- You visit a knitting store, or you do online window shopping for knitting supplies frequently.
- You can’t wait to finish your work or school activities because you’re itching to go home and spend the rest of your day knitting.
- You keep on mentioning knitting in conversations with other people at times.
- You make it an escape from reality excessively.
Knitting, in general, isn’t bad because it will always boil down to the knitter whether he or she will revolve his or her life around knitting. If you can balance your time for knitting and responsibilities, then you won’t have any problems.
How Does Knitting Improve Mental Health
Knitting can play a significant role in improving a person’s mental health. As previously mentioned, this hobby can bring different benefits to our brain, like peace, relaxation, and sharpening of cognitive and enhanced problem-solving skills.
Along with other crafts, research also proves that knitting is one of those exercises that can greatly enhance someone’s mental health. Health-wise, knitting is also useful in improving our physical health.
First, when you knit, you follow a rhythm that, in return, will release serotonin, and this will help you deal with anxiety. Knitting also requires such focus that when you knit, you can clear your thoughts.
It was also discovered through additional research that certain aspects of knitting can help with anxiety, such as:
- Hand movements: With extracting much effort on hand work while knitting, the brain now diverts its attention to the activity rather than to your negative thoughts and worries.
- Repeating: Knitting requires movements, especially with the hand, to repeat knots and patterns over and over again. Research proved that repetition helps calm people facing stressful environments or anxious thoughts. The more you knit, the more you repeat these movements, and the more your brain swaps your attention to it. This will help you think less about what’s worrying you.
- Visual appreciation: Do you agree that colors lift up people’s moods whenever they see them? Knitting comes in a lot of colors, and it’s fun to see these colors together. Different yarns in numerous colors exist, and you can create lots of pieces and patterns with these colors, which makes knitting a really enjoyable hobby.
- Busy mode: Knitting can keep you busy because you have a lot going on in your hands… literally. When you are busy, you won’t feel bored. With this, you’ll have lesser time to think about negative thoughts and practice bad habits.
- Providing me time: ‘Me time’ is important to keep you in check. We all need time alone for ourselves, and knitting is one of the perfect activities to spend your alone time productively. You can spend hours and hours knitting a piece or practicing while you’re in the comfort of your home or your room alone. You can also create a positive knitting environment depending on what makes you happy.
Conclusion
Knitting can be an addictive hobby, but it doesn’t impose much harm because of the mental health benefits connected to it. It’s okay to knit most of your free time if this pastime makes you feel happier, safer, and more relaxed. Remember that this hobby can make you feel more positive about yourself and the people around you. You can share your love for knitting with other people, and you can enjoy it on your own terms.
