When she was eight years old, Valerie Gale got her first model kit: a Kenworth truck that she assembled and painted with her father. At the time, she recalls, it was a special way for her to spend time with her dad. But this hobby also helped her learn patience and focus, and developed her creative side.
In the years since then, Gale gained much more than a love of mixing her own paints and carefully creating dioramas. In fact, she met her husband in the model trains section of a hobby store they since bought together, and they now have two kids who also delight in building and decorating models and dioramas. Through it all, explains Gale, her hobby continues to bring her joy, satisfaction and an inner peace.
Ive been doing model-building since I was eight. Now Im 38. Its my passion, says Gale.
Psychologists say creative hobbies like these are so much more than just a fun pastime. Whether its building model trains, knitting, crafting, journaling or making art, devoting time to a hobby that demands cognitive energy is like cross-training for your brain. Research has shown learning a new skill as an adult helps to grow your brain by opening up new neural pathways and improving memory function. (Physical activity and social interaction are other factors in keeping a brain fit).
And devoting time to a beloved hobby also acts as a natural antidepressant for many people, says Calgary psychologist Dr. Dan McKinnon.
Aristotle said that happiness is the cultivation of healthy habits, and I would go as far to say that hobbies are healthy habits, explains McKinnon.
It takes us away from the everyday world and the demands upon us and puts us into a state of stillness where we may be able to cultivate and master things of interest to us.
In fact, McKinnon says, he often advises depressed or anxious patients to reflect on a happier time in their lives, and rediscover the hobbies that once gave them joy.
And for people approaching retirement, notes McKinnon, devoting time to hobbies can be the key to staving off feelings of depression and aimlessness that some retirees experience when they leave the world of work.
While hobbies can help keep aging adult brains sharp, they also have enormous benefits for children, says Dr. Brent Macdonald, a child psychologist who specializes in complex learners.
Mastering a hobby builds selfconfidence, which can be the key to helping children who have a difficult time learning in school, he says.
If they can find a situation where they have some degree of success, it can go a long way to sort of over-riding the lack of success they might experience in their academic classes.
Particularly in the elementary years, he adds, its critical for children to be exposed to a wide range of activities.
Kids are developmental creatures, so their interests are going to change. For kids, the world is still brand new to them, theyre still learning about what is out there. Theres a lot of value in having different kinds of hobbies.
Parents should remember that children learn not only through their successes at a particular hobby, notes MacDonald, but through their failures too.
I think the main thing is it teaches them resiliency, how to roll with the punches a little bit.
As for Gale, who spends much of her day helping others perfect their craft at her hobby store, Chinook and Hobby West, theres nothing quite like seeing the pride in a childs eyes after theyve worked diligently to accomplish something they didnt think was possible.
I love encouraging childrens hobbies. I get to share that passion with someone else.