12 Ways that Quilt Making Is Good For Your Mental Health
Over half of Americans say they’re worried about their mental health. If you’re one of them, you might be looking for better ways to handle stress and anxiety.
Try Making a Quilt!
A creative and relaxing hobby like quilting can give you relief from stressors in your life. Find out how quiltmaking can improve your emotional well-being.
Creative Activities Like Quilting Increase Serotonin and Decrease Cortisol
The American Psychological Association says that doing creative activities like sewing and quilting can help lower stress. This is because these activities can raise the level of serotonin, a chemical in our body and brain. More serotonin can make us feel happier, sleep better, and less anxious.
These Activities Lower Levels of Cortisol
A study reported by Utah State University found that making art can reduce stress. After creating art, they saw that about 75% of people in the study had lower cortisol levels, a stress hormone.
Quilting, which is a type of art, is popular with about 10-12 million people who make quilts in the United States. These quilters seem to have found a great way to stay healthy, feel less stressed, and be happier!
Quiltmaking Lowers Blood Pressure and Hypertension
Taking part in creative and calming activities can help lower stress and decrease your blood pressure. Dr. Randy Cupps from South Denver Cardiology explains that when you spend time on a hobby or something you enjoy that isn’t about work, you give your mind a break. This shift to something fun and enjoyable is good for your well-being, “As a result, your blood pressure and hypertension lower.”
Doing an Enjoyable Hobby Like Quilting Reduces Physical Tension
Many quilters I’ve talked to say that putting together a quilt can be incredibly relaxing, almost like being in a trance. Some psychologists call this feeling “flow,” where you forget your worries. The hands-on work of quilting calms your nerves and helps your body relax. When I think about it, making clothes can be stressful because you have to worry about the fit, but quilting is different because a quilt will always fit!
Quiltmaking Can Be a Healthy Addiction
Having a fun activity that takes your mind off stress and worries is important. The goal is to find a positive distraction that helps you grow and feel fulfilled. Some folks might joke that their partners are addicted to crafts or quilting. But really, many habits are not so good, like splurging on fancy cars, buying lots of lottery tickets, or using harmful substances. Compared to those, crafting or quilting seems like a pretty good choice.
Quilting Enhances Hand-Eye Coordination and Fine Motor Skills
Making a quilt requires the ability to do small, exact movements repeatedly. The more quilts you make, the easier it gets. If you continue, it can help you keep your fine motor skills sharp as you get older.
And Foot-Eye Coordination?
Don’t forget, you’ll spend lots of time using your feet to make the sewing machine sew. This must mean that quilting builds foot-eye coordination, too. Let’s make the argument that quilting makes you a better driver!
Quiltmaking Provides a Sense of Purpose
Learning new skills always boosts an individual’s self-esteem, but quiltmaking is a hobby that results in tangible items that can benefit individuals, families, and communities. Helping others gives us a sense of purpose and makes activities more meaningful. There is no better way to lift your mood than to make someone smile.
Gifting Your Quilts to Others Can Reduce Feelings of Hopelessness
Barak Obama said, “The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, and you will fill yourself with hope.”
Quiltmaking is more than just a hobby that feels good; it’s also a valuable way to spend time. Quilts can be given to family, friends, or even people you don’t know, and the care put into making a quilt is always valued.
Self-Confidence Grows With Each New Quilt
Your self-confidence will increase when you finish a project that requires setting and reaching smaller goals to achieve a larger plan. Positive Psychology reports, “Making progress towards personally meaningful goals is the scaffolding upon which healthy self-confidence is built.”
Quilting Brings a Sense of Community
Your grandmother or great-grandmother may have gathered around a quilt at a quilting bee to chat, gossip, share ideas, and build friendships, all while creating a needed bed covering for someone in the group.
Modern quilters gather at quilt guild meetings, workshops, retreats, festivals, quilting cruises, and at their local quilt shop for classes and events. They find camaraderie and belonging by showing their quilts, sharing ideas and tips, and being inspired together.
Quilt Making Builds Connections with Others
Quiltmaking brings quilters together and helps them feel connected to the wider community. Quilters often give away their quilts, making the recipients feel loved and the quilters feel like they’re part of something bigger. They also share their skills by teaching individually or in groups, like in a class or workshop. Doing these things makes a quilter more in touch with the people around them.
Quilting Helps Your Mind Stay Young
Spending time on hobbies that let you learn and gain new skills is important. Henry Ford said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.”
Now, Go Make a Quilt!
The benefits of quilting are no longer a secret. Quilters worldwide enjoy better mental and physical health and are happier because quilting helps them relax. They make the most of their free time, build solid friendships, and help out in their communities. Don’t you want to make a quilt? Get started today with a free quilt pattern.
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