Benefits of knitting

I read an article regarding the the benefits of this wonderful craft. I knew it was relaxing to me but was unaware that research had actually been done on the subject. Basically stated that knitting combats depression and also slowed onset of dementia, and challenges and strengthens our brain and gives sense of well-being. Who knew!! It’s like a medicine but with a tangible end product to be enjoyed or gifted.

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It challenges my brain just a tad too much at times :laughing: like when I kept counting to 3 instead of 4.

Great benefits.

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KnittinGigi,
As a tax preparer/bookkeeper professional, my work is incredibly stressful, especially as deadlines loom and clients wait until everything is a fire drill before responding. Knitting has saved my sanity for the last 6 years or so and I find the challenges of knitting and figuring out mistakes and correcting them, to be beneficial to all parts of my life, including my work. Win-win all the way!

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I take my knitting everywhere that I might have downtime, appointments and car pick up line after school for my granddaughter. Kind of funny but other people pay attention and always asking”what are you making”. I love sharing. Of course these traveling projects are more compact and leave larger projects to work at home. But definitely a stress reliever. Raising a young child at this stage of my life not easy so this is my calming activity.

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I volunteer with a group called Project Knitwell which is in the northern Virginia/Washington DC area. We teach knitting to those in stressful situations. We go to hospitals, halfway houses, teen facilities, jails and community sites for the homeless. We’ve even taught via zoom.
There is starting to be a body of research on the health benefits of knitting as measured by subjective and objective criteria. I’m sure there are similar groups around the world.

https://archive.nytimes.com/well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/01/25/the-health-benefits-of-knitting/?smid=tw-share

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Wonderful article. And kudos to you for your work with project knitwell.

:pray:good to know :blush:

Ditto!

I take mine everywhere too. I have simpler on-the-go projects. Unfortunately, I have trouble saving them for that purpose!

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Experience is the best teacher. We all recognize when we’ve made the same mistake again. :slightly_smiling_face::upside_down_face:

I completely agree - there are some projects that I have done but - never did the dreaded finishing - because I really just needed them to slow my brain down a bit - the more complicated the better!

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Knitting is relaxing to me now. But when I first started in my teens, I had one eye on the clock the whole time. I had been raised to be a type A personality. I’m not sure when, but I did come down off of that attitude at some point and now I can’t remember why I thought everything was a competition. Life’s a lot more enjoyable this way. I still have relatives who think that way tho. I can’t help but pity them a little.

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