Studies Show Knitting and Crocheting is Good For Your Health

By Rachel Choi – 13 Comments

I was surfing the crochet forums and found this video that I thought you all would like to watch. They focus more on knitting but the results correspond to crocheting as well. In fact all needlework related to knitting and crocheting is found to be good for your health. This probably isn’t a huge surprise for any of us, but at least now there is scientific evidence to support what we all knew. The repetitive action of crocheting helps manage stress, pain, and depression. It can also strengthen the body’s immune system and decrease the chances of memory loss by 50%. For more details, here is the video from CBS news!



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13 Comments

  1. Harold says:

    I can tell you from experience that crocheting is very relaxing and a great stress reliever. I have often set down to crochet and before I realize that an hour or two have passed and then I just feel like a load has been lifted. I even set in the lobby of my apartment building and crochet and it still relaxes me. When I am crocheting, it seems that everything around disappears for that period of time that I am crocheting. I think I would be lost if I couldnt crochet. I simply love it!!!!!!!! (And you help out Rachel..;-)

  2. Rachel says:

    Hey Harold!
    I feel the same way when I crochet! It’s such a great hobby to have. I’m trying to get more of my friends to try it since they stress out so much and this might just be the remedy 🙂

  3. DCMerkle says:

    Hi Rachel,

    I’ve always found that when I do any type of needle work, crochet, cross stitch, embroidery, I can get a lot of thinking done that I wasn’t really thinking about. It is a great stress reliever. I’m disabled and there are plenty of nights that I crochet so I can take my mind off the pain. I’m trying to teach my son and hubby basic crochet. Even if they both make nothing but scarves the rest of their lives, I know it would help them both to calm down from the stress of the world.

    Thanks for a great blog and newsletter!

    DCMerkle

    • Rachel says:

      Hey DCMerkle!

      I’m glad that crochet helps you feel better! Good luck with teaching your family to crochet, there’s nothing wrong with just making scarves 🙂

  4. Your a dear blessing for what your doing on your web site. It’s surprising for such a young girl especially in these days. Keep up the good work. Your truley a inspriation.

    May God BLess You

  5. Hello, I agree totally I have verified and it in my same one.
    Thanks to crochet and the workings manuals, consegui to leave a state of sadness and stress Thanks crochet!!!
    Sorry by my English

  6. tara says:

    i started crocheting when i quit smoking and it helped greatly it has now been 7 yaers that i quit ,now i have taught a couple young pre teen girls in the neighbor hood how too crochet and it keeps them out of trouble i am trying to teach my girls no luck yet ,but i wont give up crocheting has endless Possibilities so happy fingers are holding yarn and needle have fun

  7. sherry says:

    Yes it releases stress and helps with depression…I do have high blood pressure but haven’t seen a difference in that yet. I really enjoy your site Rachel. Keep up the good work.

  8. Hezaaa says:

    I agree, it really really does help to lower stress levels. I always feel kind of comforted when I crochet and I always thought that it was just like a mental connection to home because my grandmother and my mother taught me to crochet. But I guess there is more to it than that.

    -Happy Stitching

  9. […] Scientifically proven to be healthy. The repetitive action of crocheting helps manage stress, pain, and depression. It can also strengthen the body’s immune system and decrease the chances of memory loss by 50%. You can even watch the CBS video clip for more info here: Studies Show Knitting and Crocheting is Good For Your Health […]

  10. Lindy says:

    I crochet about two hours every day. If I don’t get to crochet, I start to feel antsy and anxious! It’s the repetition and the feel of the yarn that is so soothing to me. Even if I weren’t selling or giving away the things I make, I would still crochet every day. I find it very calming and peaceful. Thanks for all you do for us Rachel. You are a special lady.

  11. Kerstin says:

    Being a well trained yoga-teacher I can underline that really concentrating on something steady or some steady activity calms and relaxes, because the mind is not doing several things at the same time. If the mind is jumping from one subject to another and back and forth etc. it brings tention to the mind – that results in tention of the breathing and that results in tention for the body-systems.

    By concentrating on a pattern, the mind is busy counting, measuring, looking for mistakes and correcting them, etc. – so it still moves around, but the jumping is not “wild” as in an unconcentrated every-day state but takes place within a certain small area (i.e. crochet-contents). That is already relaxing.
    Crocheting a simple or repetetive pattern, is even more relaxing because the area is even smaler.

    Another reason for relaxing might be, that you perhaps usually do not have much time for deeply thinking about something – while crocheting you have it. Concentrating on one subject (i.e. thinking about a certain subject) while your hands “automatically” do the moves, has the same effect as mentioned above. And finding answers to questions or solutions for problems while thinking for a while without interruption, also has a relaxing effect.

    So, crocheting as such, either a complicated or a simple pattern, is a wonderful possibility to relax body and mind – and that is essential to stay healthy [well, apart from enough sleep, no drugs of what kind ever, healthy food and reasonable work-out…].

    Keep enjoying your crocheting,

    Kerstin

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