The post on craft psychology was about what happens in your head while you knit. This one is about what happens over years.
28 per cent.
That is how much lower the risk of early memory problems was for older adults who regularly did handcrafts, compared with those who did not. The figure comes from Mayo Clinic, and it is the strongest thing I have found about knitting and the mind.
Four years with the same people
The researchers followed 1,929 people aged 70 to 93. All of them had normal memory when the study began. Memory and thinking were tested regularly for four years.
Those who knitted, painted or did other handcrafts were less likely to develop what is called mild cognitive impairment. That is forgetfulness and slower thinking that goes beyond normal ageing, but is not dementia.
What makes this study stronger than most is that it followed the same people over time. It did not just ask once how people were doing.
A life that feels worthwhile
A study from 2024 used answers from 7,182 adults in a large national survey. More than a third had done some kind of craft in the past year, from knitting and painting to pottery and woodworking.
They were more satisfied with life, happier, and more often felt that life was worthwhile. The researchers took health, age, income and employment into account, and the link still held. For the feeling that life is worthwhile, crafting mattered about as much as having a job.
The effect was not large. But it was there, even when everything else had been accounted for.
8,000 crocheters
The same pattern shows up in crochet. Around 8,000 crocheters answered a survey in 2020. Almost nine out of ten said crochet made them calmer, and 82 per cent that it made them happier. Around seven out of ten felt it was good for their memory and concentration.
The figures are close to the survey of 3,545 knitters I wrote about last time. Two crafts, two surveys, almost the same answers.
What the numbers don’t say
Only the Mayo study followed people over time. The other two show associations and what people experience themselves. They do not show that the crafting is the cause.
It can also work the other way round. People who have energy to spare may find it easier to keep up a craft. None of the studies can fully separate the two explanations.
Knitting is not a cure, and I am not going to claim that it is.
What I take from it
As a special needs teacher, I care about mastery. It runs through all of these studies: what works is something you do regularly, over a long time, and that you can manage.
That is why the level of the pattern matters so much. A project you put down after three rounds does nothing for your mind. A project you finish makes you want the next one.
If you are unsure where to start, the levels are explained in the level guide. Small projects you finish in an evening or two are under Quick projects. If you get stuck, the techniques are explained with video in Knittipedia.
Anne-Turid
Sources: Krell-Roesch, J., Vemuri, P., Pink, A. et al. (2017): Association Between Mentally Stimulating Activities in Late Life and the Outcome of Incident Mild Cognitive Impairment, JAMA Neurology · Keyes, H., Gradidge, S., Forwood, S. et al. (2024): Creating arts and crafting positively predicts subjective wellbeing, Frontiers in Public Health 12 · Burns, P. & Van der Meer, R. (2020): Happy Hookers: findings from an international study exploring the effects of crochet on wellbeing, Perspectives in Public Health.