5 Benefits of drawing as a hobby

Maintaining a hobby is always a great source of relief from the workload especially for those living under great pressure. These small tasks that we do in our leisure periods let us enjoy what we really like to do and give our mind rest from anything else. We often try to find out what gives us refreshment and most joy in our leisure time by collecting coins/stamps, writing, gardening, fishing, and so on. Among these, drawing is one of the easiest and extremely efficient for the human mind as a hobby. There are many reasons to try drawing, not just as a profession or passion to follow but as a source of relief and joy.

1. Pencil drawing doesn’t require many expensive tools

First of all, it’s relatively cheap. It does not require anything expensive, at least at the beginning; anyone can pick a piece of paper and pencil and start drawing or sketching; anytime, anywhere. Subjects of the drawings can be anything that comes into mind. Anyone can keep a pencil and a sketchbook in their bag and draw anytime when something comes to mind. It can be an idea, a landscape scenario, portraits, design, etc. It does not even require a huge deal of energy or time.

Real-time pencil drawing video demonstrations from EloMelo Drawing channel

2) Drawing it’s a great way to express ourselves

Among other mediums of expression, drawing lets us express our feelings most precisely and accurately. Language often fails to depict the thoughts we generate and creates different subjective assumptions about the expression. Drawing helps us to overcome the barrier and let us express our ideas or feelings more precisely, almost originally. So, as a medium of expression, it actually develops our communications with others and strengthens our social bonding.

3) Drawing improve creativity, memory & problem-solving skills

Drawing is also an amazing way to improve our creativity and problem-solving skills. When we engage our brain into drawing something, we learn to look at things from different perspectives. It enables our mind to have different views, analyze them, and help us bring coherence to them. By doing this, we can find out the most desirable way to look at things and find out the best idea that works. It can really enhance the overall cognitive functioning of the brain and the capability of creative thinking. These developments of the brain may also help us in other perspectives of our life or in our professional works by improving our problem-solving skills.

The Science of Drawing and Memory with Dr. Lodge McCammon

Drawing also improves our memory and coordination of hand with the brain. A 2016 study led by researchers at Yale University reported a phenomenon called the “drawing effect”. The study shows that when we illustrate the meaning of a word in drawing, it can cause the highest level of memory recall related to that word. This means drawing can be helpful to memorize and recall past events. Also, when we use our hand precisely calibrated with our brain to draw something, the connection between the brain and hand muscle enhances. The more we will engage in drawing, the more accurately we will be able to use our hands for different purposes.

4. Health benefits of drawing

There are also several health benefits related to drawing. It calms down the nerves by expressing the feelings that words cannot express or not enough to express exactly. The failure to express feeling appropriately may generate enormous mental stress. To keep our nerves calm, it’s essential to exactly express our feelings.

According to a study published in “The Journal of Korean Medical Science” shows that mindful art therapy reduces the anxiety symptoms of people with a heart condition. This means, by totally focusing on drawing, we can attain a perfectly calming moment for the mind like doing yoga which is extremely beneficial for our physical health.

It can even reduce the actual physical pain by moving our focus away from the painful stimulus. This is not a trick for our brain to avoid the pain but to train our brain not to focus on the pain, let it relax, and not to let the pain take over the mood. This will not help to take away our instant pains but it can be helpful for people suffering for a long time from physical pain due to chronic illness or severe accident.

Not only this. People who are suffering from depression can take drawing as their hobby as research shows that it mitigates depression too. Instead of just expressing inner ideas and feelings, it is also possible to repair the mood of people by distracting them into drawing something. It may help the people by taking them outside of the repeating or circular thoughts that cause their problem. People who are suffering from traumas should practice drawing and express the traumatic feeling they are holding. It may lead to a feeling of lightless by releasing the pains in papers, through every touch they make. The most important part is, finishing or creating something beautiful with their own hands can make them happier too.

5. Drawing helps us focus better

Besides all these, drawing also improves the concentration and focusing ability of our brain. When we draw, the part of our brain related to the concentration becomes activated. The more and more exercise of drawing may improve that part of our brain and help us focus on our everyday life and professional works. It may also help people who are struggling to concentrate on their studies and works.

So, if anyone who is struggling to find a suitable hobby for refreshment and joy should definitely try drawing. Not only it will bring joy but will also help to develop brain activity that can be helpful in every perspective of our lives. It’s more than a hobby.

(Featured image: Image by Cally Lawson from Pixabay)