A healthcare scientist has sharing the many different health benefits of picking up one specific hobby that many might consider a ‘grandma activity’ – but has been linked to a reduction in dementia risk
Dementia is a devastating condition for any individual or family going through it (stock image)(Image: Ridofranz via Getty Images)
A healthcare researcher has revealed how starting one hobby can help to reduce your risk of developing dementia ‘in half’ while also providing other benefits to your life. Dementia is a broad term describing a deterioration in cognitive function that significantly disrupts daily living. Rather than being a specific illness, it’s a syndrome resulting from various disorders affecting the brain.
While there is no guaranteed way to prevent dementia, up to 45 per cent of cases worldwide could be delayed or prevented through targeted lifestyle changes, health experts have said. To help people prevent dementia, one scientist has now shared how starting a specific hobby can slash your risk of getting dementia ‘in half’.
Neil K. Shah is a healthcare researcher focused on caregiving for the aging population. He’s known as ‘America’s chief elder officer’ and is an National Institutes of Health-funded Principal Investigator on the YayaGuide AI for Dementia Caregiver Training project that he started at Johns Hopkins University in Balimore. He has also grown a following of more than 115,200 people on TikTok, where he often shares researched-backed health facts, including how to reduce risk of dementia.
“This hobby cuts your dementia risk in half: Knitting,” Neal revealed in a recent video that he posted on TikTok. “I’m not exaggerating. Let me show you the science, because I think it’s wild.”
He went on to explain that, in a Mayo Clinic study, participants who knitted and crafted were 30 to 50 per cent less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment, a stage right before dementia.
How can knitting prevent dementia?
While it sounds odd that a pastime often considered a ‘grandma hobby’ can be so beneficial to our minds, Neil went on to explain just how it works. “Knitting forces both the hands into coordinated, complex movement, which builds what scientists call a cognitive reserve,” he explained.
He goes on to say: “The logical side counts the stitches, the creative side reads the pattern. But the brain stuff isn’t just the start.”
Other health benefits of knitting
In addition to helping prevent dementia, science has shown that knitting offers several other benefits, both physical and mental. Firstly, Neil explained that the act of knitting has been proven to ‘kill pain’ anywhere in your body.
He explained: “Pain isn’t just made in your knee, it’s made in your brain. And your brain can only process so much at once.”
Content cannot be displayed without consent
“Knitting floods it with signals that crowd the pain out,” he added. “This is real enough that UK pain clinics now prescribe it.”
Secondly, knitting has also been proved to be an effective antidepressant. In a survey of 3,500 knitters, 81 per cent of clinically depressed people felt happier after knitting, with more than half of them saying they even felt ‘very happy’.
“Finishing even a few rows triggers dopamine. Your brain rewards you for making something with your hands. Scientists call it reward or effort driven reward,” Neil explained.
And if you needed even more convincing to start knitting, it has also been linked to lowering someone’s blood pressure. This is because the rhythm of knitting triggers the same relaxation response as meditation.
“Heart rate drops, cortisol drops. But unlike meditation, you end up holding a scarf,” Neil explained.
He then went on to add: “And here’s a part I love. Knitting can last into extreme old age. Even when your scythe and sight and strength are fading. It’s a portable relaxation tool you can carry anywhere in a bag. It fights loneliness, which by itself raises dementia risk up to 40 per cent.”
“So I think knitting is not just a grandma hobby. It’s a prescription you can hold,” Neil said.