Get hooked on crafting for your brain health

When it comes to supporting brain health, people tend to think of completing sudoku, learning a new language or becoming a chess master. These things are great for challenging your brain, but they can sometimes feel too intimidating or difficult to fit into a busy schedule. 

One often-overlooked hobby is crafting. 

Maybe you were a keen crafter in your childhood, and you’re worried you don’t have the skills anymore, or perhaps your evening crafting sessions have been slowly replaced by doomscrolling? 

 If this sounds like you, take this as your sign to revisit those YouTube tutorials and get started on some homemade Christmas gifts for your loved ones. 

But how exactly can crafting help support your brain health? 

 

Three reasons crafting can be a good hobby for your brain health 

 

1. It can help you relax and reduce stress 

Whether you enjoy knitting, crochet, painting or another creative hobby, crafting can be a great way to unwind and switch off. 

 

Focusing on a project can help you be more mindful by helping you stay present in the moment. This may help reduce stress and improve wellbeing. 

 

 

2. It can help you challenge your brain 

Learning a new craft or developing your skills can help keep your brain active. Crafting often combines creativity, problem-solving, coordination and fine motor skills, engaging different areas of the brain. 

 

Regularly challenging your brain can also help build cognitive reserve – the brain’s ability to cope with changes caused by ageing or diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Research suggests that people with greater cognitive reserve often experience symptoms later than those with less cognitive reserve.

 

 

3. It can help you keep connected 

Crafting can be a sociable activity as well as a creative one. 

 

From knitting clubs to craft workshops, there are plenty of opportunities to meet people, share ideas and learn new skills together. Keeping connected is important for brain health, as social isolation is a known risk factor for dementia. 

 

Ready for a crafting challenge? 

 

If you’re a seasoned professional crafter or just want to give something new a go this autumn, why not consider getting involved in our Knit, Sew, or Crochet Every Day in November challenge! One of our most popular fundraising challenges, you’ll be able to raise vital funds for dementia research by crafting every day! Here’s how it works:  

• Create your fundraising page by clicking here. You can choose to register with or without Facebook.  

• Once you register you will be sent out a free tote bag, and a limited-edition crafting pamphlet to help kickstart your creativity. Plus, a tracker to help you log the days you crafted. 

• Share your page with friends and family. If you raise your first £30 before the 1st of November, you’ll earn a limited-edition stitch marker! 

• Get crafting! Whether you choose to knit, sew, or crochet every day, every craft will help support vital dementia research. Plus, you can share your creations in our friendly Facebook community! 

This is our fourth year running the Knit, Sew, or Crochet Every Day in November, and the group is bigger and livelier than ever!  We’d love for you to join our crafting community and help raise money to Find A Cure for dementia. 

 

There is no one particular hobby that’s best for brain health. If crafting isn’t your thing, you could challenge yourself to relearn a song you used to play on a musical instrument. If you are a crossword aficionado, challenge yourself to pick a harder one for your next Saturday afternoon puzzling session. The key is to find something you enjoy and can do regularly.  

Looking for more ways to support your brain health? Take the Think Brain Health Check-in today. Think Brain Health – Think Brain Health – Alzheimer’s Research UK