How do leisure activities help our mental wellbeing?

We know what it feels like to enjoy our free time – time when we’re not working or doing chores but engaging in activities we’re passionate about or make us feel good.

These activities might include things like listening to music, playing games, exercising, volunteering, socialising, bird watching, reading or gardening.

And they can influence our health and mental wellbeing

Evidence shows how important the activities we do in our free time are and how they can shape our health and wellbeing.

Researchers have analysed studies from the last 70 years and concluded that there are over 600 ways in which our free time activities influence our health and mental wellbeing. They are sometimes called ‘mechanisms of action’ and can be grouped into the following four categories:

Our thoughts and feelings

The leisure activities we do in our free time have been shown to support our emotional state, improving our mood, how we feel about ourselves, our ability to cope with the challenges of life, and helping us to feel that life is meaningful.

Our bodies

Engaging in activities we enjoy also benefits us physically – including through reducing stress hormones, lowering blood pressure and supporting our immune system and overall physical functioning.

How we interact with others

We often spend our leisure time taking part in activities with others. This improves our relationships and instils a sense of belonging, feeling valued and being part of something bigger than ourselves. This can lead to increasing the strength of a group and its ability to effect change.

Our behaviour

Leisure activities can also help us to change our habits for the better, control risk-taking and increase our motivation, belief and ability to achieve our goals. Enjoying free time activities prompts more healthy behaviours, like being more active and improving our sleep.

It can lead to decreases in unhealthy behaviours, like smoking, drug use and unsafe sex. It can also help improve the management of an addiction.

Crucial to feeling good and functioning well

The ways in which leisure activities affect our health and wellbeing are different for everyone. There are also many factors that can influence our ability to take part in leisure activities.

It isn’t selfish or time wasted, but vital to us being able to feel good and function well.

The ‘ingredients’ of free time activities

Many professionals are researching what it is about leisure activities that affect our health and wellbeing. These are sometimes called the ‘active ingredients’, which can be thought of as the specific aspects of the activity that bring about change or trigger the ‘mechanisms’ listed above.

One study that looked at how arts activities affect health found 139 ‘ingredients’ of free time activities, which can be grouped into three categories:

Characteristics and engagement with the activity

The format of the activity – such as whether it’s held virtually or in person, how often you do it and for how long, and the content or resources used – appear to be important. Also, how people engage with the activity was highlighted in the research, like whether the activity involves the senses, mental processes or body movement.

People

Interacting with others through leisure time is an important factor. Social experiences might be part of the activity itself or can take place in an informal way, such as during breaks.

The diversity of the people involved also has an impact, as does the previous experience that people bring to an activity. If the activity is facilitated by others, then the approach that the leader or guide uses also matters.

Contexts

The setting or environment that the activity takes place in is also an essential factor. The location, surroundings and atmosphere all affect the impact that an activity can have; also important are the resources available to deliver the activity, the costs involved, how it’s managed and how people are signposted to the activity.

Important elements of a variety of leisure activities

Although some of these ‘active ingredients’ may be specific to arts activities, the researchers did compare their findings with other studies. They found a lot of similarity with what has been identified as important elements of different types of leisure activities.

If you’re organising an event or activity, it may be worth thinking about these ingredients if you’re looking to make a positive impact on your attendees’ health and wellbeing. You may want to consider ideas about how activities are established or run for the maximum benefit of everyone taking part.

Essential for good mental wellbeing

Enjoying activities in our free time is necessary for good mental wellbeing. There are things about the activities themselves, how we interact with others when doing them and the setting or environment we are in that influence the ways in which taking part in something can benefit us.