Forgetting our hobbies is an unfortunate and natural part of living life. We often face periods of stress and overwork so overwhelming that we don’t have enough time for what we used to love. By the time our calendars open up, we’re often settled into new patterns, and we forget about getting back into older habits.

There’s nothing wrong with finding yourself on this path, but there’s also nothing that says we need to stay on it.

With some hard work, it’s very possible to rediscover old hobbies, and there are few better ways to do that than by creating a hobby room. Make a special space for it. Whether this means remodelling an older room or building a new one, there’s a lot to be gained from this process, with serious advantages that pay off in the years and decades ahead.

Working on any kind of hobby rewards you with the feeling of a job well done. Whether it’s relaxing after exercising, thinking over the message of a book you just read, or admiring the work of a creative project, simply finishing it can be its own reward. Hobbies are also more than that, aiding in positive health outcomes.

According to research as mentioned at Sword Health, keeping mentally active can maintain cognitive health and delay age-related decline. We’ve all seen people in their eighties with minds just as sharp as they’ve ever been. And hobbies can play a major part in you achieving the same sharpness later in life.

Working on your home

Clearing a room or creating a dedicated space to pursue these activities can be a great way to get started on a new hobby. Not only this, if you do it right, remodelling or rebuilding a room into a hobby space comes with the added benefit of increasing the valuation of your home. These are highly desirable spaces, and the extra value they created is taken into account by estate agents, including online home sales services like We Buy Any Home.

This online system works by looking at the entirety of a home, including the work that you’ve done, and running calculations to determine value. Free cash offers are then returned within minutes and funds in as little as seven days. Any enhancements you’ve built can create appreciable payoffs if you do choose to sell. So, you could be investing in your home, as well as yourself.

Discovering or rediscovering a passion

Mental sharpness and financial rewards are already strong reasons to think about building hobby rooms, but just as important is the joy that it can bring into your life. Hobbies aren’t just distractions; they’re ways that we can express ourselves, our creativity, and grow into more developed people.

Hobbies can also be a useful way of connecting with loved ones or meeting new people. Online communal hobby group systems like Meetup can help with this process, letting you find like-minded individuals to share new or existing passions with.

The idea of creating a hobby room might be challenging, but it’s likely to be worth the effort. Investing in a hobby room and jumping back into the hobby space is an investment in your future, even if the first steps can be difficult ones. It’s all about taking a long-term view, and asking yourself where you’d like to be five years from now. And what skills and personal projects you’d like to have achieved when 2030 comes around.

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Summer is the time of year that has everyone questioning their health. Winter rolls into spring, spring to summer — and before you know it, it’s a scorching hot day and you’re regretting some past decisions.

But it isn’t too late, and with this cracking British summer comes many an opportunity to get healthy while having some fun. Sport is a great way to do just that, and this year’s Wimbledon has got everyone talking tennis…

Serve, volley and backhand your way to a longer life

A bit of time on the court can go a long way to fighting against some of the most common ailments for over-50s.

For women, the regular exercise tennis provides can strengthen not only your muscles but your bones too. That means reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis, conditions that affect millions of women across the UK.

For both men and women, the mental health benefits of a good game of tennis are plentiful

Men are at a higher risk of carrying extra visceral fat that can lead to diabetes or heart disease. Getting active through tennis can help to shed some of that extra weight, lowering body fat for a happier and healthier lifestyle.

For both men and women, the mental health benefits of a good game of tennis are plentiful. Exercise increases the levels of serotonin the brain, which coupled with the social nature of the sport can have great results.

A new survey by Local Tennis Leagues (LTL) has shown just how effective tennis can be — 88% of participants over 50 claiming to feel fitter after joining a league, and 83% reporting improved mental health.

Sporting sociably with Local Tennis Leagues

Local Tennis Leagues is an organisation keen to get more people playing. With nearly 200 mixed-sex leagues across the country, people of any ability can come along and give it a go. Players are sorted into group based on ability, so don’t worry about getting matched up with Andy Murray.

The leagues build a sense of community, which can lead to some great friendships

Nigel Billen, one of the founders of LTL, says that it isn’t just the fitness and competition that keeps people playing. “It’s not just about tennis … the leagues build a sense of community, which can lead to some great friendships being formed”.

Last year over 8,000 people played 30,000 matches in the leagues, and the numbers of people getting involved is constantly growing. So, why not head along to a local league of your own and give it a go? There’s nothing to lose, apart from a set or two!

How can I get involved?

Local Tennis Leagues are open to men and women of all standards over the age of 18.  It costs £18 to enter a round, which runs for 8 weeks. To find out more, or to find a league near you, visit www.localtennisleagues.com

Tennis will only get you so far — here’s 5 other tips to get healthier this summer

1. Healthy Eating

Sounds obvious, right? But still an important thing to remember. With summer comes loads of seasonal fruit and veg, so it’s a great time to get some more nutrients into your diet. Strawberries (and cream!) anyone?

2. Supplements

Nutritional supplements, while not a replacement for good old-fashioned healthy eating, can be a great way to ensure you’re getting all the important vitamins and minerals your body needs. Fish oils are great for your joints, among many other benefits, so are a great choice for an aspiring tennis player.

3. Rest

We’ve been going on about the benefits of an active lifestyle, but rest is just as important. You’ll never recover from all those games without a good night’s sleep. Try and aim for eight hours so your body gets enough time to do its thing.

4. Massage

The different types of massage can be good for your health in various ways. It can aid your recovery, improve flexibility, and help to keep you in winning shape. Sports massage in particular might not be as relaxing as some alternatives, but it’s a great way to loosen up those muscles and joints. No pain no gain?!

5. Fun!

It’s important to manage your stress levels, as being too wound up can wreak havoc on your health. Having fun —through a game of tennis or something else entirely — is a great way to make sure you’re keeping stress in check. Take this with a pinch of salt though, going overboard can have the opposite effect.

Ellis Fergar

The post Anyone for tennis? appeared first on Silver Magazine.

“This is the small one,” says the man with the New Jersey drawl. He’s called Kevin and is talking about the enormous lens fixed to the front of his fancy camera. “The big one’s at home,” he chuckles.

We’re in Portugal, just outside Lisbon, peering – through cameras, telescopes and binoculars – over the mudflats and salt marshes of Hortas, at curlews, egrets and dunlins. A white wagtail builds a nest in an abandoned fishing boat. A peregrine falcon soars overhead.

Kevin tells me he’s written a book: The Birds of New Jersey. “Guess what the twitchers call it?” he asks. Without leaving space for an answer, he says: “The bible!”

The proud author – with his beaky-peaked baseball cap and squinty Clinty eyes – is one of a group of 13 birdwatchers. They drew up in a small coach just minutes after my companion and I arrived at this peaceful location with our Portuguese guide Bernardo Barretto.

With a pair of €2,000 binoculars hanging from his neck, Bernardo sets up his £4,000 Swarovski telescope. I have borrowed a pair of Pentax 8 x 36 binoculars. It’s several hours later that I realise they’re not malfunctioning – the barrels just hadn’t been set as close as my eyes are. I was embarrassed about being such an obvious beginner, but Bernardo was courteous and patient and didn’t laugh at me once. (Not to my face anyway.)

Bernardo didn’t appear to be irritated by my endless random but bird-related questions: do birds see in colour? Are all birds’ eggs edible? Is it true that some birds can live hundreds of years? Does he ever dream of flying? (Yes, think so, no and no.) He tells me how, during his honeymoon 12 years ago, he had to leave his new wife alone in order to seek out a grey wagtail. I asked whether she’d minded, to which he replied: “Well, she’s still with me.”

Flamingos are the only known lesbian birds: one of many discoveries that stayed with me.

Although I was a birdwatching newbie, this wasn’t my first foray into the world of our feathered friends. Ten years ago, I made a start on a novel, tentatively titled All About Birds. Requiring some research, I studied with great interest a book called Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity. Flamingos are the only known lesbian birds: one of many discoveries that stayed with me after reading that book.

Kevin continues to wax lyrical about being the gull guru, despite Bernardo’s squawks of delight as he spots a Caspian tern. I took Kev’s card and said I’d let him know when his name was in print.

A half-day tour, which is what I took on that misty midweek morning, might be enough for a birdwatching beginner, but a more seasoned bird-lover may prefer a longer session. The following day, Bernardo took my companion and I on a ten-hour tour. During that time, around the cork oak woodlands of Pancas and in the Barroca d’Alva rice-fields and pastures, we took in not just birds, but flowers, trees and insects too.

Bernardo – patently passionate about all aspects of nature – walked us through a forest of cork trees, explaining how the cork is harvested and proudly telling us that Portugal is the biggest producer of cork worldwide.

A twitcher, apparently, is a mildly derogatory term for a birdwatcher more obsessed with the listing than the looking

Wearing a khaki bushwhacker hat to keep the sun out of my binoculars, my joy at excitedly ticking off every species I identified made me, according to Bernardo, a bona fide twitcher. A twitcher, apparently, is a mildly derogatory term for a birdwatcher more obsessed with the listing than the looking. By the end of day two, I had seen 68 species of bird. Not a high score, Bernardo tells me – other tourists have seen around 100 in a day. I scoured the list of 160 bird-types again, just in case I’ve missed one.

On the third day – grey and drizzly – a still enthusiastic Bernardo drives us to the EVOA Center (the Tagus Estuary Natural Reserve), located in the heart of the most important wetland in Portugal, about 50 kilometres outside Lisbon. In this ark of a building, built in 2015, we learn, via colourful information boards, about birds of the region. In the EVOA café, we enjoy some thick and tasty homemade fish soup. (I am kind of glad it isn’t chicken).

After lunch, we check out a few ‘hides’ – shed-like man-caves dotted over the grasslands. In one hide, we find birdwatching ‘god’ Frederico Morais, posted since the crack of dawn, hoping to espy some rare species. He’s disappointed. The fact that he holds the record for spotting the most (309) species of birds in a one-year period perhaps makes up for the lack of sightings on rainy days.

As we drive away from the site, Bernardo screeches to a halt in the mud. “Look, look! A purple heron!” A large-winged, rather ungainly creature flapped across the piece of sky directly in front of the car. “You can tick that off your list now,” he laughs. But, newly-hatched twitcher that I am, I tell him smugly that the ticking has already been done.

Book a tour (from a few hours to 12 days) through Birds & Nature
Check out the EVOA Center
I stayed at the Tivoli Oriente Hotel in Lisbon
Walking boots by Berghaus

TWITCH FACTS

* Fancy falling in love over the binoculars? Bird Watcher Buddy is a sort of dating-come-mates site for like-minded birders to ruffle a few feathers

* Globally, there are between 9,000 and 10,000 species of birds. The avifauna of mainland Portugal itself includes a total of 465 species recorded in the wild according to Sociedade Portuguesa pars o Estudo das Aves (SPEA), Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds.

* In 2017, research by academics at the University Of Exeter, the British Trust for Ornithology and the University of Queensland found a strong link between birdwatching and improved mental health.

* In a recent article in Condé Nast Traveller, urban birdwatching was picked as a top trend, with the likes of Damon Albarn and Bill Bailey cited as fans.

* It’s not just us lot keeping our eyes out; the under-24s in the UK are keen too. New research from Mintel reveals that 23% of young Brits have been birdwatching in their spare time

Jacqui Deevoy

Jacqui Deevoy has been a freelance journalist for over three decades, starting out on teenage magazines, then later working for women’s magazines worldwide, and national newspapers including the Daily Mail, the Mirror, Express and Telegraph. These days, as well as writing for magazines, papers and websites, she produces documentaries and hosts a Monday night talk show for Unprecedented TV.

The post Twitching in Lisbon – why birdwatching is the Next Big Thing appeared first on Silver Magazine.