Needlework, a grandmother’s hobby? Far from it ! In addition to having become ultra-trendy again, knitting would be an ultra-beneficial activity for our health. Another good reason to imitate our elders!
Knitting to fight stress
This is probably one of its best-known virtues: knitting helps fight stress. And it’s not Tom Daley who will say the opposite: the British swimmer has indeed got into the habit of knitting in the stands before stepping onto the diving board of the biggest world competitions… and it has rather succeeded for him ! And this is not surprising! Dozens and dozens of studies have looked at mental health benefits of knitting. In 1976, Herbert Benson, professor of medicine at Harvard University was one of the first to theorize the benefits of knitting on morale, in particular its effect on stress and addictions. Virtues validated by 86%1 of French people who believe that knitting allows them to relax, de-stress but also to feel happier, according to 81% of knitting enthusiasts2. Even the American actor Ryan Gosling after trying his hand at knitting for a whole day admitted that it had been the most relaxing day of his life!