I love to knit and it keeps me alert and challenges me to make a piece of clothing that I’m proud of. So I was curious to find out if there are health benefits.
Here’s what I found: According to the Benson-Henry Institute at Mass General, knitting has been shown to help stave off mild cognitive impairment, the decline in the power of perception: thinking, reasoning, and remembering. International research involving over 3,000 knitters showed that the more often people knitted, the better their cognitive function.
And knitting benefits both sides of the brain: right for creativity, left for logic and maths. The repetition of the movements of knitting can elicit the ‘relaxation response’, corresponding to a lowering of breathing rate, heart rate, and blood pressure. Knitting benefits both sides of the brain: right for creativity, left for logic and maths.
The other things that I like about knitting are the social aspects. I like to go to the store, buy yarn and talk to the sales clerks. There are various knitting groups to join. I can take my knitting in my large purse and go anywhere. Lots of people ask me what I’m knitting. I can even knit in the park. I hope that more people take up knitting!