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This article is part of\u00a0<\/i>Upstream,<\/i><\/a>\u00a0The Daily Wire\u2019s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories \u2014 from our featured writers to you.<\/i><\/p>\n ***<\/i><\/p>\n You don\u2019t have to be a victim of the toxic workplace in your head<\/a>. Take<\/span> a vacation from your phone whenever the mood strikes, with the \u201cgranny hobby\u201d trend that brings peace and joy to the offline space where your <\/span>doomscroll<\/span><\/a> used to be. Early adopters, aka your grandma, knew exactly how to calm the <\/span>digital distress<\/span><\/a> of your heart using a world-class innovation: <\/span>yarn<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If you missed out on <\/span>cottagecore aesthetic<\/span><\/a> back in <\/span>the early 2020s<\/span><\/a>, when everyone got so into homesteading they were practically churning butter in their bathtubs, please immediately book a ticket to Grannyville. Now, instead of serving as a temporary cope, studies show that ditching Instagram and TikTok for analog experiences such as sewing, crafting, and reading lead to improved mental health<\/a>. Your 1,000-piece puzzle is so self-care right now.<\/span><\/p>\n So which grandma-worthy hobbies are guaranteed to take the edge off? While <\/span>glammas<\/span><\/a>, gigis, and <\/span>gams<\/span><\/a> of all ages get their cardio on with <\/span>pickleball<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>swimming<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>lawn bowling<\/span><\/a>, the most stress-reducing activities rely on slowing down. Grab an ice cold Diet Coke \u201c<\/span>fridge cigarette<\/span><\/a>,\u201d pull up a rocking chair, and chillax.<\/span><\/p>\n With nearly <\/span>150,000 tags<\/span><\/a> on TikTok, needlepoint takes the gold at the unofficial granny Olympics. <\/span>Emma MacTaggert<\/span><\/a>, Gen Z founder of <\/span>What\u2019s The Stitch<\/span><\/a>, described her passion for a contemporary spin on needlepoint, saying, \u201cIt was a really therapeutic way to kind of distract yourself from either work or stress, but also just do something with your hands instead of doomscrolling.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Crafters can also enjoy the soul-soothing benefits of <\/span>repetitive movements<\/span><\/a> through a needle-based flex such as cross stitch or crochet. And if you like chunkier materials, it\u2019s always quilting or knitting season, too. \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d contestant and mom of three <\/span>Hannah Harper<\/span><\/a>\u00a0auditioned for the show\u2019s 24th season in a patchwork dress she stitched herself. \u201cYou\u2019re like my favorite person. You\u2019re wearing homemade clothes,\u201d judge Carrie Underwood told Harper. \u201cYou\u2019re singing songs called \u2018String Cheese.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n When it comes to grannycore, it takes one to know one. Underwood revealed that she makes her own kombucha and grows peppers for homemade hot sauce, which is straight granny. \u201cThis entertainment world that we live in is not reality,\u201d <\/span>Underwood<\/span><\/a> confessed. \u201cReality is vacuuming, and cleaning toilets, and doing laundry, and gardening, and cooking, and that\u2019s a world I love.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Okay, just for the record, you don\u2019t need to pack your day with <\/span>all <\/span><\/i>of granny\u2019s activities. But l<\/span>etter writing, sketching, gardening, and reading all offer the mind, body, and soul a welcome digital detox. \u201cDude, you know what actually just rips in your thirties, dude, is like, birds, dude,\u201d says TikToker <\/span>Chickenjawsh<\/span><\/a>, enjoying a chill stroll past some trees to, like, bird-watch, dude.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Baking<\/span><\/a>, canning, and preserving serve star baker<\/a>-granny energy, with even singer-songwriter and known <\/span>Pop-Tart maker<\/span><\/a> Taylor Swift admitting on the \u201c<\/span>New Heights<\/span><\/a>\u201d podcast, \u201cI\u2019d say all my hobbies could be categorized as hobbies you could have had in the 1700s.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Snag a little inspiration from grandmas around the globe by trying your hand at a Puerto Rican abuelita\u2019s game of <\/span>dominoes<\/span><\/a>, a Chinese <\/span>n\u01ceinai\u2019s<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>mahjong<\/span><\/a> hang, or the cozy \u201c<\/span>fika<\/span><\/a>\u201d coffee habit of the nearest Swedish <\/span>mormor<\/span><\/a>. <\/span>Serving \u201ctrad granny hobby\u201d with a twist, jewelry making, ceramics, and <\/span>pottery<\/span><\/a> offer the unplugged relief you didn\u2019t know you needed. Plus, you\u2019ll have a cool thing to hold, which lets you cash in on the <\/span>tactile grounding<\/span><\/a> experience of connecting with physical objects. Just another way to <\/span>touch grass<\/a> \u2014 <\/span>which, by the way, also boosts your mood.<\/span><\/p>\n My grandmothers were brilliant at gardening, needlepoint, piano, painting, cooking, baking, card games, creating unbreakable bonds with friends and family, and always having a little piece of wrapped candy ready 24\/7. This is anecdotal evidence of the trend, of course, but good <\/span>storytelling<\/span><\/a> is a granny hobby, too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But hold your retro horses for a minute. For a granny hobby to offer the most possible peace, it must remain joyful and calm, without triggering even a shred of anxiety. If spending half your paycheck on an authentic <\/span>19th-century spinning wheel<\/span><\/a> sparks joy, do it. If it stresses you out, there\u2019s a chance you\u2019re not doing granny hobbies right.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After dabbling in bread-making and accidentally killing several sourdough starters, I got into the curative art of puzzling. Okay, so my love affair with jigsaws probably lasted a week. But it was enough time to dive into the dark web of professional puzzle-doing, and download the I Love Hue app to get better at noticing slight differences in color. I followed <\/span>Karen Puzzles<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>The World Jigsaw Puzzle Federation<\/span><\/a> on YouTube, hypnotizing myself with footage of <\/span>puzzle-solving championships<\/span><\/a> that look like it\u2019s stuck on fast-forward.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After watching the winners go from plastic-wrapped box to finished puzzle in less than 30 minutes, I quickly came to the realization that I didn\u2019t have a future in puzzles. Stressing out over flipping all the pieces to the picture side would have destroyed the healing journey of finally finding that last edge piece on the floor after two glasses of wine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Putting the icing on the homemade cake, grannycore is a flex. You can partake in granny hobbies solo, take \u2019em on the road, or make it a group thing with a <\/span>meetup<\/span><\/a> that\u2019s all about that adult <\/span>LEGO flow<\/span><\/a>. Yes, the idea is to ditch screens for your health. But unlike half-watching \u201cLove Is Blind\u201d while stressing yourself out on TikTok, granny hobbies gently <\/span>occupy your fidgety fingers<\/span><\/a> without distracting from the storyline of your favorite show.<\/span><\/p>\n