Arts And Crafts Improves Mental Health

Past studies using various methods of gathering data are saying that creating art reduces levels of cortisol, the body’s stress hormone.

"Engaging with arts and crafts is accessible and affordable. Options such as knitting and drawing require very few tools and can be engaging and creatively fulfilling activities," said Dr. Helen Keyes, cognitive psychologist and head of the school of psychology and sport science at Anglia Ruskin University, via email.

Her new study, together with fellow researchers, has found that engaging in creative activities can significantly boost well-being by providing meaningful spaces for expression and achievement.

Although prior studies have shown that creating arts and crafting is therapeutic for people with mental health conditions, the general population has been understudied, according to the study, which published recently in Frontiers in Public Health.

This is the reason why the study sampled members of the general population without diagnosed illnesses to see how arts and crafts might contribute to well-being and may reduce loneliness outcomes in everyday life.

The team used data from a major national survey in the UK between 2019-2020 to investigate how creative activities could impact life satisfaction, controlling for variables known to affect wellbeing such as gender, age group, health, employment status and deprivation. The researchers analyzed a sample of 7,182 participants living in England (age 16 and over) from the annual Taking Part survey conducted by the UK’s Department for Culture, Media, and Sport, which explores how the public engages with these activities.

"We kept our analysis to arts and crafting at a broad level, rather than focusing on specific hobbies, as we know that people’s preferences vary and they will find the craft or creative activity that works best for them," Keyes said.

More than 37 percent of survey respondents confirmed they had taken part in at least one craft activity over the last year. They were also askabout their employment status, their health, their sense of life being worth living, how frequently they feel lonely and their levels of sensed happiness, anxiety and life satisfaction.

Participants’ reported happiness, life satisfaction and sense of lives being worthwhile were positively correlated to participating in arts and crafts, but arts and crafts were not associated with decreased anxiety or loneliness which requires further investigation. Additional study is needed to examine the social aspects of creative activities, researchers said. "All forms of art can be beneficial in boosting mental health. Benefits include: increase in self-esteem, reduction in anxiety/stress, improving communication, and fostering creativity," said Dr. Frank Clark, a psychiatrist with Prisma Health, via email. Clark was not involved in the study.