Being creative is the new meditation

We all know by now that meditating is good for you. Regular meditation reduces stress, helps you sleep better, reduces anxiety, improves concentration, and so on. The benefits are clear, but what if you feel too restless to actually meditate?

I've noticed that I find it difficult to find the time and peace of mind to meditate. While discussing this with a friend during a coffee date, I realized: when I'm being creative, I can also really clear my head! For me, being creative is "the new meditation."

Win-win!

While researching the scientific basis for my own experience for this blog post, I came across several studies that confirmed this, including one from Drexel University College of Nursing and Health Professions. This study showed that painting, drawing, or sculpting significantly reduced the stress hormone cortisol, and participants reportedly felt happier and calmer. You don't even need to have experience with creative hobbies; even participants without "creative fingers" experienced the positive effects. So, it's primarily about the creative activity itself, not so much the results.

The great thing is that being creative not only calms your mind, but it also works the other way around! Because you have peace of mind, there's also more room for creative solutions. It's a win-win!

Creative flow

But how does it actually happen that being creative relaxes you? When you're enjoying being creative, you can forget everything around you. Your attention is completely focused on the project you're working on, so all other thoughts fade away. You enter a creative flow where you're completely absorbed in your project. This allows your busy mind to completely unwind.

💡 Want to know more about flow? Then also read: Is flow the secret to happiness?

Now, some creative hobbies are better suited to getting into a creative flow than others. Hobbies that involve repetitive activities, such as knitting, crocheting, embroidery, wood burning, stamp carving, and dotting, are particularly relaxing. Because these hobbies help you get into a rhythm, you don't have to think so hard about the next step in the project.

Soothing embroidery

I recently discovered embroidery. I find it wonderfully relaxing. You're not tied to a counted pattern, because once your design is on the surface, all you have to do is trace it with embroidery stitches. Because you don't have to count, unlike with knitting and crocheting, you can truly unwind. Embroidering puts me in a kind of meditative state, and before I know it, an hour has passed without me noticing!