Manual activities are good for the brain
Manual activities such as molding, knitting, sewing, gardening, painting, sculpting, etc. are good for the brain and improve our psychological health. They also represent a way to relieve stress by improving neural plasticity, dexterity, concentration and the ability to relax the mind.
This is explained by Dr. Lambert in his book Lifting Depression: A Neuroscientist’s Practical Approach to Activating Your Brain Brain Healing. By manual activities, he does not mean being at the computer all day, or fixing a pipe. The secret is in creation and transformation. The satisfaction of these activities not only has an emotional impact, but also a neurological one.
In other words, manual activities activate our neural reward circuits. But they must be activities that combine cognitive effort and concentration with pleasure for what we are capable of achieving.
Now, depression doesn’t go away just because we learn to embroider or paint. Manual activities are good because they are a catalyst, a means of changing brain chemistry. This is due to the internal pleasure they generate, so combined with other psychological therapies, they can give excellent results.
If you were afraid to join some activity that challenges your creativity and interests you deeply, put aside your grief and fear and do it for your mental health.
Benefits of manual activities in the brain
- The physiology of the brain and the chemical response change: endorphins and serotonin are secreted and cortisol, the stress-related hormone, is reduced.
- Neural plasticity is improved because new connections are created and cognitive impairment is contrasted with them.
- Manual activities negate the effects of chronic stress, according to Dr. Robin Hurley of Baylor University in Houston.
But as we said, it is not all manual activities that generate these benefits. For example, if you work full time in a factory that requires manual skills, it is unlikely that repetitive activities will generate welfare. So the key is in activities that arouse our curiosity, concentration, passion and interest.
Painting or drawing may not be your thing, but you can try modeling or gardening. Anything that encourages your creativity and challenges you to transform something with your hands can be good. These activities do not accumulate stress but release it through creativity and motivation.
Finally, psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi points out that activities that generate a state of flux must be found to improve mental health. This means that you shouldn’t start painting if this activity is stressful for you, but rather look for what you are good at or not, feel that you are flowing, without worry. That said, we can only advise you to join the creative process and let yourself go. You will see how you feel a fresh air coming into your life and the stress and worries will take a back seat.