Knitting has health benefits in addition to being enjoyable and creative. It alleviates tension, promotes literacy, and reforms convicts. Knitting has even been shown in studies to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease! Who’d have guessed these seemingly simple artworks in health, education, and wellness? Let us investigate the health benefits of knitting.
What are the health benefits of knitting?
Knitting promotes mental health. Since mind and body are interrelated, knitting may help improve physical health. Here are five potential benefits.
1. Reduce anxiety and stress
This is one of the most significant health benefits of knitting, and it was the first to be identified. Knitting captures all of your attention, and you become so absorbed in working row after row that it pulls your mind away from other issues once you become “in the zone” (and you will know when this happens!). Knitting using a celtic raven fibre design is linked with serenity for me, lowering both worry and stress.
2. Better cognitive function
Knitting using strings from Darn Yarn may appear to be a simple and repetitive pastime at first glance. However, switching between knitting and purl stitches increases brain function. Studies on older persons have found that this form of positive mental engagement can improve cognitive functions such as memory and reasoning.
In connection with this, some study suggests that the cognitive demands of knitting can lessen the risk of acquiring Alzheimer’s and dementia by keeping brain cells active.
3. Improve self-esteem and alleviate depression
Knitting with noro yarns entails making something, and transitioning from consumer to producer is liberating. When knitters see their work grow, they gain confidence and a sense of success. For sure, there is a sense of accomplishment in being able to wear or utilize what you created – creating something with your hands has healing power!
While we all know that clinical depression requires expert help, studies have shown that knitting can clear the mind of negative ideas and release serotonin, which aids in treating depressive conditions.
4. An alternative sort of mindfulness practice
Knitting needs concentration and focusing on the present moment, one stitch at a time. Knitting has been dubbed “the new yoga” since each session allows you to disengage from the outer world, slow down, and focus. Is this anything you’ve heard before? Yes, it is similar to mindfulness; hence, the health advantages of knitting are similar.
Knitting has been compared to meditation by some, and a new term for it has been coined: meditation. Some knitters attain a similar meditative state by concentrating on the rhythmic flow of knitting rather than reciting a mantra or focusing on their breathing.
5. Sense of control
Most of us have noticed that things have gotten out of hand in the last year. Instead of obsessing over the unpleasant condition of affairs, opting to spend time doing something over which you have control will make you feel better.
Begin with a simple project so you can experience the amazing sense of having control over what can be controlled. To summarize, knitting is another coping strategy you might employ. The feeling of emotional well-being is one of the many advantages of knitting that every person should experience.
To Wrap it Up
Knitting’s therapeutic effects range from stress reduction to improved cognitive functioning, self-confidence, and ability to focus on the present. Knitting can benefit your health whether you knit alone or in a group. It’s easy to start, and once you’re hooked, you won’t stop.
