Why Doing What Makes Your Heart Sing Is Essential for Your Health

In our fast-paced, over-scheduled world, the things we love to do - what brings us joy - often gets pushed to the bottom of the to-do list. But science is catching up to what our hearts already know: doing what makes you come alive isn’t indulgent — it’s actually vital for your health and can increase your lifespan.

• Research shows that people who regularly engage in hobbies have lower stress, better mood, and even live longer.

  • A large international study found that those who kept up meaningful hobbies had about a 29% lower risk of death from all causes — even after accounting for age and health factors (BMJ, 2023).

    
    

• Another long-term study from the Harvard School of Public Health found that people with a strong sense of purpose — often nurtured through creative or fulfilling activities — had significantly lower risks of heart disease and stroke, and decrease their mortality risk. (JAMA Network, 2019).

  • When you find your purpose and act on it, you become fueled with renewed energy.

    
    

• Engaging in joyful activities also lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol and boosts immune health (American Journal of Public Health, 2010).

  • When you paint, dance, garden, sing, or laugh — you’re literally recalibrating your body’s stress system and decreasing your mortality risk.

  
  

• So, if you’ve been waiting for permission to play, to create, to do the thing that makes your heart sing — this is it. It’s not just good for your soul. It’s good medicine.
  

• Doing what you love to do is literally soul food that makes you healthy. Give yourself permission to live, not just a little, but a lot! Do what makes you happy right now.