Sewing is a wonderful hobby and enjoyable pastime for people of all ages, but do you know that there are many health benefits to sewing? 

Read this article to learn more about why you should sew for your mental health, the therapeutic benefits of sewing, the physical health benefits of sewing, and socializing, as well as how sewing can be a factor in determining your overall happiness. 

We will also explore some interesting scientific research done on the topic recently and discuss the relevance of sewing to chronic conditions such as dementia and depression.

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Physical health benefits

The physical benefits of sewing and quilting are plentiful:

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1. Lowers heart rate and blood pressure

Studies have shown that needlecrafts can lower heart rate and blood pressure. This is due to the calming effect that these hobbies have on the body and how they can counteract the stress response.

This is great news for the many people that suffer from these common conditions. It also means that sewing and quilting might be an effective forms of therapy.

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2. Reduces risk of dementia and loss of brain function

A recent study looked at various hobbies and whether they helped reduce the risk of dementia and preserve brain function. It found people with crafting hobbies such as sewing and quilting, were 45% less likely to suffer from mild cognitive impairment.

It’s thought that physical and mental stimulation of the brain through hobbies may increase growth factors that help brain cells function better and prevent them from dying.

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3. It improves your hand-eye coordination

This is important for a variety of reasons, including preventing falls.

Research has shown that as we age, our ability to perform ordinary manual tasks declines. The decline in hand-eye coordination can result in an annoying increase in ‘clumsiness’.

Put simply, your hand-eye coordination is the ability to use your hands very precisely and to follow the path of your eyes with them. Without it, you wouldn’t be able to write or draw, cook, use your phone and so much more.

Sewing requires a lot of line tracing and precise movements of the hands, so it helps with further hand-eye coordination development. The best part is the fact that you’re exercising the mentioned ability subtly, without even noticing it, which means that you won’t get sick of it nor will it become boring.

 

4. Helps Develop and Maintain Proper Posture

Most of us have found that hunching over is somewhat difficult when we’re sitting and sewing.  We recommend you can use your sewing time to practice proper posture. Sitting upright will also help with any back pain and headaches you get as a result of tension.

The benefits of proper posture will carry over into other tasks in your daily life. So you’ll find yourself sitting and standing upright more often overall.

 

Mental health benefits

Sewing can also do wonders to improve your mental wellbeing!

 

5. Builds Self-Esteem

Another one of the psychological benefit of sewing skills is that it brings about greater self-confidence. We believe that would be a useful trait for all women to have, don’t you?

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Clothes have the power to transform people. 

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In a study by Adam Galinsky, a psychologist titled, “Enclothed Cognition” he described how clothing influences the wearer’s psychological processes and behavior. 

In the study, he asked the participants to wear a doctor’s coat and were found to be more attentive and focused.

The symbolic association of clothing becomes the wearer.

Some people use Cosplay as a way to gain confidence in socializing and self-esteem. A sense of accomplishment is invaluable for our self-esteem.

Sewing gives you all sorts of reasons to feel proud of yourself and like yourself better.

 

6. Improves Mood

Did you know that sewing can help decrease levels of depression? When you do an activity that you enjoy (like sewing!), your brain releases a chemical called dopamine, which is a natural antidepressant. By sewing, your brain releases dopamine which makes you feel happy and decreases depression. 

Also because of the various mental health benefits of sewing skills, people tend to generally notice an increase in their daily energy levels. Naturally, that leads to much better mood overall, which we can then use to do more sewing. Clearly, it’s a win-win situation!

 

7. Improves Focus

Practicing sewing is scientifically proven to raise mind awareness and concentration while doing any type of activity which further, in turn, allows us to stay mentally focused in our life.

Aside from being able to think on our feet (or in our seats, as it were), sewing also teaches us time and project management. 

From start to finish, sewing projects also require us to rely on our math knowledge to adapt patterns. And you’ll develop an even sharper focus if you’re practicing the therapy of hand sewing. Best of all, our newly sharpened problem-solving skills transfer into other aspects of our lives as well.

 

Therapeutic Benefits of Sewing

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8. Being a Part of a Community

Sewing is a great social activity with which to meet people and form sewing groups, get advice, and build relationships with others who share similar interests. The internet is full to the brim of sewing forums for a whole range of different categories. There are sewing communities that focus on vintage or historically accurate clothing, Cosplay communities, and many others.  Joining a Sewing group can be a great way to meet like-minded people and have your work critiqued.

You can join both online groups as well as attend in-person meetups to build sewing communities and friendships.

 

9. Stress relief

Work, traffic, friends, family, they all stress us out to a degree, no matter how much we love them.

So, finding something that effectively gets rid of that stress is pretty important, or you’ll end up with some serious health problems after a while.

Since sewing helps you relax and do things at your own pace, and since it allows you to completely forget everything else for a while, it does a great job at lowering your stress level and calming you down.

In a way, sewing is a therapy that can be amazingly effective.

 

From custom clothing to crafts, sewing is a profitable hobby that continues to stand the test of time. 

Consider your skill level, how much space you have, and your budget before purchasing a new machine. You’ll also want to stock up on accessories, including plenty of needles in different sizes, various colors of sewing thread, fabric, a quality pair of scissors (or two), and pins. Make sure you gather everything together before you start sewing, so everything you need is close at hand.

Your sewing machine is an investment, it works hard for you and it's important to keep it in shape.

Sewing Machine Maintenance between service appointments keeps it running well, ensures the stitches and tension are correct and can prolong your machine's life. 

 

Learning to sew takes time and patience, but it can certainly pay off once you know the proper sewing techniques. Learn a few sewing tips and tricks, you’ll be a better sewist in no time!

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Don’t forget to check out our sewing beginner friendly sewing tutorials!

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As a helpful reminder, we even have a handy printable PDF outlining some of the basic health benefits of sewing.

Download this infographic and keep it on your computer, pin it on Pinterest, or print it out and keep it in your sewing room.