The Importance of Hobbies for Mental Health and Longevity in Older Adults

2023-10-18 11:18:01

Eunbong Lee, professor of internal medicine at Seoul National University Hospital

As people age, symptoms of loneliness and social isolation worsen, and mental illnesses such as depression also increase. Because mental illness leads to various physical diseases and increased mortality, preventing mental illness is essential for the elderly.

Hobbies are activities that people do for fun during their spare time. They include sports and dance that require physical activity, cultural activities such as art, music, and reading, and social activities such as volunteering.

The results of a study analyzing the relationship between the hobbies of older people and mental illness were recently published in the renowned medical journal Nature Medicine. The study targeted 93,263 people aged 65 or older in 16 countries around the world. We first investigated whether the study subjects engaged in hobbies and then followed them up for 4 to 8 years to investigate the occurrence of mental illness symptoms.

The frequency of people engaging in hobby activities differed by country: 51% in Spain and 90% in Japan. A comprehensive analysis of data from 16 countries showed that people who engaged in hobbies had regarding 10% lower depressive symptoms. Feeling healthy, happy, and satisfied with life were also high. Comparing by country, the more people engaged in hobbies, the longer the life expectancy was, and the higher the national happiness index.

Hobby activities not only train imagination and creative thinking, but also stimulate cognitive and sensory functions. Because it restores confidence by challenging and solving difficult problems that arise from hobby activities, it prevents depressive symptoms and increases self-satisfaction with life. The first thing you should do to prepare for your retirement is to develop a hobby that you can enjoy for fun. It doesn’t matter what kind of hobby you have, but if possible, I want a hobby that I can do while hanging out with people.

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