Latest news with #hobbies
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Where to find a great farmers market in eastern Connecticut
There are plenty of summertime hobbies. While some swim, fish or camp, others may grow fruits and vegetables in their garden. However, not all of us are blessed with a green thumb, and you may not have the time and energy to grow your own. Still, you can get that fresh-picked taste from local farmers without needing to travel far. Below is a list of just some of the farmers markets in eastern Connecticut, from ones that open in one spot to others that travel to multiple locations. The information is sourced from each farmers markets' respective social media pages and websites, and the National Farmer's Market Directory. The Northeastern CT Farmers Market This farmers market travels to multiple locations in Windham County throughout the week. On Tuesdays, the farmers market is in Plainfield at 651 Norwich Road, across from Agway, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. On Wednesdays, it's in Brooklyn at the Brooklyn Commons Plaza at 564 Providence Road from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. On Thursdays it's at the Riverview Marketplace at 18 Kennedy Drive in Putnam from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. On Saturdays, it's at the Killingly Public Library at 25 Westcott Road from 9 a.m. to noon. Some vendors, including Woodstock Farms and B-Z-B Farms, appear at all locations, while others only appear at some locations. For example, Palazzi Orchard only comes to the Killingly locations, and Organic Roots only comes at the Putnam and Brooklyn locations. The NECT Farmers Market accepts credit, debit and SNAP. Uncas on Thames Farmers Market The Norwich Uncas on Thames Farmers Market at 401 West Thames Street, Building 100, is open this year on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. until Nov. 3. This farmer's market is headed by the Killam and Bassette Farmstand of South Glastonbury. The items available include fruits, veggies, local honey, maple syrup, free-range eggs, and award winning canned goods. FMNP/Soli, SNAP, EBT, Farmers Market Nutrition Program Coupons, TVCCA Coupons, credit, debit and cash are accepted forms of payment. Downtown Norwich Farmers Market This year, the Downtown Norwich Farmers Market is on Wednesdays and runs through October from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Howard T. Brown Memorial Park on 100 Chelsea Harbor Drive. Goods available include fruits, vegetables, honey, jams, eggs, baked goods, and arts and crafts. The Downtown Norwich Farmers Market accepts Farmers Market Nutrition Program, WIC and SNAP alongside cash and card. Voluntown Farmers' Market The Voluntown Economic Development Commission operates the Voluntown Farmers' Market on Sundays at the Voluntown Elementary School parking lot, 195 Main St., from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. until Oct. 5. Some of the vendor include LakeView Farm, Peterson's Patch Flower Farm, and Country Comfort Cooking. Lisbon Farmers Market The Town of Lisbon hosts a farmers market on Thursdays from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on the Newent Meeting House Green, 12 South Burnham Highway until the end of September. Bozrah Farmers Market The Bozrah Farmers Market, located at 45 Bozrah St. operates on Fridays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. until Oct. 11. The market has a wide range of products, but has a strict rule that vendors can only sell products that they themselves grow or make. Some local vendors who sell at the farmers market include Hillydale Road Farm, Rare Breed Cheese, Collins Farm Stand. There are also a variety of craftspeople there, as well as fresh food and cheese. Montville Farmers Market The Montville Farmers Market takes place on Tuesdays until Oct. 7 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Camp Oakdale Large Pavillion on 75 Oxoboxo Dam Road. Farm vendors include Collins Farm, Orbe's Heritage Farm and Smith Acres, along with crafters including Owl Wise Botanicals and Wooden Crow Creations. Some weeks also have a theme, like Dog Days and Pirate Night. Putnam Saturday Farmers Market The Town of Putnam organizes a farmers market at 18 Kennedy Drive on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. until Oct. 25. The market features eight food vendors, including Barton Farms of Scotland and Sugarz Bakery of Danielson, and five artisans, including Easy Acres Gnomestead of Pomfret and Simply Soaps of Thompson. Customers can pay the farmers directly through cash, checks or Farmers Market Nutrition Program/WIC Cards. Anyone paying by debit card or EBT/SNAP card must first purchase tokens equal to how much they want to spend before shopping. EBT/SNAP tokens still follow the same rules the regular card does. The Putnam Saturday Farmers Market does not accept credit cards. This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Eastern Connecticut farmers markets: Find your local flavor here Solve the daily Crossword


The Independent
7 days ago
- Lifestyle
- The Independent
We earn more than £100k per year, we're in our thirties... and we still can't afford to buy a house in London
When I was a child, my mum and I had a favourite hobby. At night, after tea, probably with Corrie playing in the background, we'd sit cross-legged on the living room floor of our little house in Lincolnshire making mood boards. The process was simple: potential dreams were ripped from piles of magazines and hopes meticulously pinned on a corkboard from Woolies. Some nights we 'redecorated' the house, or planned out what our lives would look like when we were finally rich. We'd have a car, for example, she wouldn't have two jobs, we'd go on holidays that weren't bought via coupons in The Sun. And sometimes, mum would clear the board, hand me the pins and say: 'So. You're 30. What does it all look like?' I had no doubts. I would live in London, I told her, working as a writer at a big magazine or newspaper. I would be happy – I'd perhaps have a partner, maybe I'd have children, too; more certainly I would have a flat, or my own little house to decorate. It was all, objectively, a bit unlikely. But having come to political consciousness to the sound of D:Ream and Tony Blair promising that 'Things Can Only Get Better', it made sense: I was raised in a generation taught to believe that, regardless of where I came from, hard work reaps reward and, if I really put my mind to it, that predictable rhythm of adulthood – work hard, earn enough, buy a place, build a life – would come. So that's what I did. I am, then, what you might consider a success story. Over the years, I've done everything that I was told would lead to stability: I studied hard, got an expensive degree, built a career now 16 years strong, lived within my means wherever humanly possible and gained that coveted status of 'working class done good'. Now aged 37, I work in a job I adore and live with my partner, an electrician, in a two-bedroom home in a lovely part of southeast London. I am five months pregnant. Together we earn more than £100,000 per year; more than I could ever have imagined from where I sat on mum's living room carpet, more than my boyfriend – whose similar upbringing meant he thought that £15,000 per year was nothing short of a fortune when he left school at 16 – once thought possible. We have some savings and decent credit scores. The unlikely dream came true. Yet, despite all that hard work, despite our successes and our sacrifices, it's another picture from the mood board that has, for decades now, felt like a child's fantasy: owning a home. For millennials like me who graduated into a recession in the early 2000s, decades of political negligence and economic short-termism – boom and bust cycles, deregulation after deregulation, stagnant wages, sky-high rents and chronically under-supplied housing – have conspired to render us the financially immature generation, never quite reaching that very British apex of what it means to be adult; to be the king of your own castle. Instead, we've done the hard work we were told to do and been told to be grateful for the opportunity. Without the roots of a stable home, one in four millennials are putting off having children and those without family money have long been priced out of London. While our household might earn just over £100,000 per year – allowing us, in theory, a mortgage of around £400,000 – first homes in London cost an average of £511,0514 and require an average deposit of £144,000. Houses are now 8.1 times the average income, a figure that has, over the years, horrified our parents – mine a nurse (a single mum) and a mechanic, my partner's a barmaid and a milkman when he was young – who believed that it would be easier, not harder, for us after they saved up their wages to get on the housing ladder. Instead of the stable foundations they started from in their twenties, we have spent years stuck in adultescent flatshares with mouldy bathrooms and greedy landlords, watching trust fund babies buy two-bed terraces as 'starter-homes' while posting about 'grit' and their 'working-class grandmother' on Instagram. Recently interest rates have been so high that a mortgage on a basic two-bed flat would be at the very top end of what we could afford anyway but, ironically, for the most part rent we pay (for me, at least a third, at times almost half of my salary over the years) is often way above what the bank might look for in a good borrower. It figures: money comes to money, as mum would always say: it's expensive to be poor. Homeowning has become simply an inheritance, passed down to the lucky ones. And this, for my partner and me at least, is the crux of it, really. Gifts, loans, or 'early access' to their future, all quietly received with a lot of chatter about savvy financial planning. For us, realistically only the deaths of our parents mean access to homeownership – a truly grim reality that just shouldn't be the case. Social mobility is no longer measured by hard work but by proximity to wealth, and Rachel Reeves ' plan to target savers with offers to invest in shares is unlikely to take off in my experience – when it's taken you more than five years to save up £20,000, there's little chance you're going to take any risks with it. And while those who point to millennials frittering their money on nice-to-haves, no amount of avocado toast or flat whites could negate a housing market rigged in favour of our predecessors – those who got in early and stayed to ride the property boom. The have-nots are trying hopelessly to buy at the peak of that boom. Decades of political negligence and economic short-termism have conspired to render us the financially immature generation, never quite reaching that very British apex of what it means to be adult; to be the king of your own castle Now, Rachel Reeves is offering a kind of soft intervention – looser lending rules, the (very good) idea that rent counts toward mortgage eligibility. Her reforms aim to bring in 36,000 additional mortgages for first time buyers in a single year, achieved by lowering the minimum salary required for an individual to £30,000 from £35,000 as it is now, and to £50,000 from £55,000 for couples on a joint income, and making mortgages for over 4.5 times a buyer's salary available. Could it help? Or are we being handed slightly longer ladders to reach the same crumbling ledge? Certainly, there's a good chance that this could be at least a short-term boost for the housing market – at least some people will be helped, and rent-proofing is sensible and long overdue. An optimistic ear might hear Reeves' attempt to 'cut the financial red tape' as opening up homeownership in a sustainable, inclusive way. To be honest, anything that makes it possible for people frozen out of the buyer's market feels like a positive at this point. If the so-called Leeds Reforms also work to boost regional economies and create greater financial equity as the Treasury hopes, all credit to her. There are obvious risks, however – over-egging demand without addressing supply, for instance, that could just make everything even more expensive (just like George Osbourne's Help To Buy scheme did in some areas). The clear danger of relaxing caps on loan-to-income ratios (as we learned during the 2008 crash), especially since real incomes rose roughly £400 slower than costs between 2020 and 2025, while house prices jumped 4 per cent year on year – basically, even if we get the mortgage, we might not keep up with it. Compounding that is a lack of new housing, without which, inflation is inevitable. It would all matter a lot less – and help first-time buyers save more readily, or at all – if the rental market wasn't ready to squeeze the life out of us. It's exhausting to continually see every pay rise gobbled up by rent inflation, or to wonder if your fertility will survive another year of trying to gain stability or consistently paying more for less. We've all had to accept that rent will, for many, now take up half of our income. But there's no fix without serious investment in social and affordable housing, proper rent controls and little regulation on the wild west of landlords – all of which should be at the top of Reeves' agenda. Right now, the insecurity of renting is only driving the pressure to 'escape' into homeownership – but that's little more than an emotionally-loaded symbol of stability in a system that, really, offers none. It wasn't supposed to be a luxury to want stability, to want a small patch of the world that doesn't depend on a letting agent's whim or a landlord's mortgage rate. All those years ago on the living room floor, Mum had blind faith in me that I might beat the odds to get to work at my dream job in London – that belief is probably the biggest gift she ever gave me before she died a few months ago. But struggling to buy a starter home at 37 with a baby on the way? Back then, we could have never imagined it. Not even with the most elaborate mood board.


Forbes
7 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Turning Hobbies Into Retirement Income: Pros And Cons For Retirees
Your hobbies may make you extra cash in retirement, but is it worth it? (Photo by Tim Boyle) Retirement is often seen as a time to relax and enjoy the fruits of one's labor. However, for many retirees, it's also an opportunity to explore passions and even generate additional income. Monetizing hobbies can provide both financial benefits and personal fulfillment, but it's essential to weigh the advantages and potential drawbacks before diving in. The Upside: Benefits of Monetizing Hobbies With rising living costs and longer life expectancies, some retirees find that their savings need a boost. Turning a hobby into a side hustle can provide that extra financial cushion. Whether it's selling handmade crafts, offering tutoring services, or freelance writing, these activities can help cover unexpected expenses or fund leisure activities. Engaging in meaningful activities post-retirement can enhance mental well-being. Monetizing a hobby not only keeps the mind active but also instills a sense of purpose. For instance, a retiree who loves gardening might start a small business selling homegrown produce, combining passion with productivity. Unlike traditional jobs, monetized hobbies often allow retirees to set their own schedules. This flexibility ensures that they can work at their own pace, maintaining a balance between leisure and work. Participating in markets, workshops, or online platforms can introduce retirees to like-minded individuals. These interactions can lead to new friendships and collaborations, enriching the retirement experience. The Downside: Potential Challenges While some hobbies can generate income, it's often unpredictable. For example, selling crafts might yield profits during holiday season but slow down at other times. Relying solely on hobby income can be risky without other financial backups. Starting a hobby-based business might require upfront costs, materials, equipment, or marketing. Without careful budgeting, expenses can outweigh profits. For instance, investing heavily in photography gear without a clear plan to monetize can strain finances. Earning income from hobbies can introduce complexities like business licenses, permits, or tax obligations. It's crucial to understand local regulations and consult with financial advisors to ensure compliance. Turning a beloved hobby into a business can sometimes diminish the joy it once brought. Deadlines, customer expectations, or the pressure to profit can make the activity feel more like work than leisure. Real-Life Examples Tips for Success Monetizing hobbies in retirement can be a rewarding endeavor, offering both financial benefits and personal satisfaction. However, it's essential to approach it thoughtfully, ensuring that the pursuit enhances, rather than detracts from, the retirement experience.


Entrepreneur
07-07-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
How I Turned My Hobbies Into Profitable Side Businesses
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. We all spend time doing things that make us feel good — going for walks, hanging out with friends, working on hobbies or just sharing ideas with people we trust. What if you could take some of those moments and turn them into something more? For me, it's not about chasing money or killing the fun. It's about making the good things even better — more connected, more meaningful, and yes, sometimes more profitable. I'm not saying you should monetize your hobbies or your relationships. But I've found that when it feels right, it can bring even more joy, depth and motivation to the things you already enjoy doing. This article isn't about hustle culture or over-optimization. It's just a look at how a few of my everyday interests, friendships and collaborations naturally evolved into small income streams with no pressure and a lot of enjoyment along the way. By the time you finish reading this, you'll see exactly why they call me Mr. 20% and how a few simple partnerships can turn passion into profit without eliminating the joy. Related: Want to Turn Your Hobby Into Income? Here's What You Need to Know First. Combining coaching and marketing skills to build a boxing course I've been training consistently with my boxing coach, and over time, we started thinking seriously about turning our sessions into something more. He brings boxing and coaching skills. I bring experience in online business and marketing skills. We're friends, we trust each other, and it made sense to combine our strengths and build something together. That's how the idea for our video-based boxing course came up — structured, practical lessons that people can actually follow from home. The virtual fitness market is booming, and AI-driven online training is fueling a 32.7% growth, according to CreatePT. That's why we also decided to integrate AI, not just as a trend, but as a tool to offer real-time support, guidance and a better experience for our students. Turning friendships into partnerships While most of my hobbies are physical or nature-related, I'm now expanding into projects with friends that mix online skills with offline businesses. For example, I have friends who run personal training studios, and I'm becoming a partner to help transform their offline operations. My role will focus on improving their local presence — optimizing their Google My Business profiles, managing and boosting reviews and enhancing how they attract clients nearby. According to Adsy, about 75% of all ecommerce transactions are carried out as indirect sales. That also means businesses not using this method are missing out on up to 80% of their sales opportunities. That's why I see local optimization as more than just marketing — it's a way to unlock serious growth that's already happening around them. In return, I'll take 20% of the new profits these improvements bring in, turning this into a sustainable side business that delivers value on both ends. Related: 3 Unparalleled Benefits of Starting a Business With Friends and Family Turning nature walks into group guided hiking adventures I've always loved being a guide in nature, leading hikes through forests, national parks and beautiful trails. Walking and exploring the outdoors is my passion, and meeting new, fresh people while doing it makes it even better. Before and during Covid, I did this as a hobby, just enjoying the experience, but now I'm ready to take it to the next level and turn it into a real opportunity. My plan is to create profiles on platforms like Booking and Airbnb Experiences, so I can reach more people who want to join me on hikes and outdoor adventures. According to The Janda Law Firm, over 118 million people hike globally, and the global market size for hiking is valued at $12.24 billion. That's exactly why this feels like the right time to step forward and build something around what I already love doing. Dog walking The dog walking industry in the U.S. was valued at $1.7 billion in 2024, showing just how popular and profitable this field has become. I enjoy walking, and my girlfriend loves walking dogs, so this hobby has naturally brought us together. Since we both live in small apartments where having a dog isn't possible, dog walking is a perfect way for her to spend time with dogs and for us to enjoy being outside together. She even makes money from it, and now we're thinking about expanding this hobby by creating a platform that connects dog owners with reliable walkers, turning something we love into a bigger opportunity. Expanding business opportunities in the transcription and translation industry I'm partnering with a close friend who owns transcription and translation agencies, taking a 20% share as we work together to modernize and grow their business. My role focuses on integrating advanced AI tools to automate workflows and improve efficiency, while also optimizing their online presence through SEO and targeted marketing campaigns. This helps attract more clients and increase revenue. According to Ditto, the transcription market is currently valued at $3.01 billion in 2024 and is forecasted to nearly triple, reaching $9.51 billion by 2034. With the rapid growth driven by increasing content creation and global communication needs, I see huge potential to build a sustainable, scalable business while helping my friend succeed in a competitive industry. Related: Make Money Doing What You Love — 10 Key Tips on Monetizing Your Passion Building small SaaS tools One of the things I really enjoy is buying old domains and turning them into small SaaS tools. I don't code myself, but that's never stopped me. I use AI tools to build out the core functions, and lately, I've been working with my younger cousin — he's just starting out as a junior programmer. He's learning fast and using the same AI tools to build and improve the products. It's a way for both of us to grow: I get to experiment with ideas, he gains real-world experience, and we both make money once the sites start getting traffic and subscribers. According to ScienceSoft, more than 30,500 SaaS companies are competing for users' attention today. That's why we focus on building simple, niche tools with clear value — no fluff, just utility — and we're turning this into a fun and profitable side hustle. In the end, it's not just about turning hobbies into income. Sometimes it's about combining your skills with the people you already enjoy spending time with. A good hobby can turn into something more when it's mixed with trust, shared curiosity and complementary strengths. Whether it's boxing with a friend, building tools with my younger cousin or helping someone grow their local business, it all starts with a real connection. The money is just a bonus. What matters most is that it feels natural, fulfilling and fun. That's what makes it sustainable. That's what makes it real.


CNET
04-07-2025
- Health
- CNET
8 Hobbies That Can Boost Your Mental Wellness This Summer
Trying new hobbies or revisiting activities you once loved is an excellent way to boost your mental wellness, and the summer is the perfect time to expand your horizons and give a new hobby a chance. Whether you're looking for an activity to do as a family while the kids are on summer break, or something to give yourself a bit of "me time," we've found plenty of hobbies worth exploring this season. Hobbies aren't a replacement for professional help, but they do offer mental health benefits such as improved mood, a sense of accomplishment and a redirection for negative thoughts. For inspiration, we outlined some great hobbies you can start now to improve your happiness. Why are hobbies good for mental health? Hobbies make you feel good. They help you relax and unwind from your day, with the added benefit of lowering your stress levels and blood pressure. Hobbies can help ease existing depression symptoms and decrease your risk of developing depression by up to 30%. Ways that hobbies improve your mental health: Improve neuroplasticity: According to StatPearls, neuroplasticity describes our brain's ability to adapt its activity and structure by forming and using new synaptic connections. You can think of your brain as a big map -- there are many ways to get to your destination, and sometimes you have to change which way you're going. Hobbies and habits require you to form new neural pathways, which provide new reference points for the brain to recognize. According to StatPearls, neuroplasticity describes our brain's ability to adapt its activity and structure by forming and using new synaptic connections. You can think of your brain as a big map -- there are many ways to get to your destination, and sometimes you have to change which way you're going. Hobbies and habits require you to form new neural pathways, which provide new reference points for the brain to recognize. Reduce stress: Many people use hobbies to decompress from stressful days. When you do something you like, you're allowing your body to relax and cortisol levels to drop, which lowers your heart rate and blood pressure while your mood increases. Many people use hobbies to decompress from stressful days. When you do something you like, you're allowing your body to relax and cortisol levels to drop, which lowers your heart rate and blood pressure while your mood increases. Help self-esteem: Everyone likes to complete things. It brings a self of accomplishment that feels great. As you master your hobby more and more, your confidence and self-esteem build. Everyone is busy. It's nearly impossible not to feel like you're bouncing from one thing to the next. But when you feel like you don't have time to dedicate to your hobbies, remember, they're good for hobbies are the best for boosting mental health? There is no one reigning champ of hobbies for mental health. We're all different, so we will choose different things to help us relax. What works for you may not yield the same results for someone else. It's about finding the right hobby that you find value in. Here are some common options people use to elevate their mental health and why it works. 1. Journaling Regularly journaling is a powerful tool that allows you to work through feelings and reflect on events you experience. It's often recommended for those with anxiety, depression and PTSD. You don't have to write a novel; research has shown that journaling for as little as fifteen minutes daily can help reduce anxiety. Read more: iOS 17.2: What You Should Know About Apple's Journal App You don't have to search to solve a problem while journaling. It's also something you can do just for fun. The benefits come either way. Common types of journaling include reflective journaling -- which involves writing about your day and what you thought about it -- and gratitude journaling. No matter what type of journaling you choose, it's a great hobby that allows you to highlight your wins and challenge negative thoughts and feelings. 2. Cooking Everyone knows that eating can be therapeutic. But so can cooking. Besides the benefits that can affect your physical health, like being in control of the ingredients, there are several reasons why cooking is one of the best hobbies for mental health. It offers a level of emotional relief that other hobbies may not. According to a study published in Frontiers in Psychology, cooking can help you relax and boost your happiness. It's not hard to see why. With each dish, you feel more self-reliant and confident, not to mention the social connections you can make when serving it to others. And for the record, yes, baking counts too. 3. Spending time in nature Hobbies that involve going outside -- like hiking or gardening -- can be great for mental health. Studies show that being in sunlight can help boost the body's serotonin production. Serotonin is the naturally occurring neurotransmitter that plays a part in regulating our moods, according to Harvard Health Publishing. It's called the "feel-good" chemical for a reason. When our body produces the right amount of serotonin, we feel happy and calm. Lower levels of serotonin are associated with mood disorders like depression. So if you're someone who goes outside, you're helping your body combat depression without even knowing it. Being outside in nature can also reduce stress and lower your heart rate. 4. Art When I say art, I'm talking about everything creative you can think of -- painting, drawing, sculpting, embroidery and woodworking. The list goes on. No matter where your hobbies fall in the lineup, you get tangible mental health benefits from them. Art lets you express your feelings and channel your creativity. You may also use it as a way to work through things that are tough to talk about. It's a tactic used often in art therapy sessions. Art may also relieve stress and improve self-confidence. You do not need to be "good" at painting to do it. There is no bar to meet for quality. The only thing that matters is that you enjoy what you're doing. 5. Music You get a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment from playing an instrument. Making something feels good, and your body responds to those positive feelings. But if you're not musically inclined, don't worry; listening to music also derives similar benefits by lowering stress and anxiety levels. It also can boost your mood. Getty Images/Westend61 6. Reading Reading is the ultimate form of escapism. You can jump into a whole new world and live a thousand different lives -- or as many books as you can read. It also happens to be a great hobby if you have anxiety. Reading can help distract you from negative or intrusive thinking you may be experiencing. It also can help lower your heart rate and help you relax. You'll get the same benefits from listening to books too. So if you can't carve out the time to read, try listening while walking your dog or cleaning your house. 7. Strategy games Strategy games and puzzles -- like chess, crosswords and sudoku -- are other hobbies that are good for your mental health. Studies have found that strategy games improve brain functioning, problem-solving skills and memory. Puzzle games also can help those with ADHD hone their concentration. Given their ability to strengthen cognition, strategy games and puzzles may also reduce the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer's in older adults. However, experts are divided on whether they are truly a preventative measure or if they help cope with the disease. More research is needed to determine strategy games' role in age-related cognitive decline. 8. Exercise Whether you work out alone or participate in team sports, exercise is one of the best hobbies to have -- both physically and mentally. When we exercise, our brains flood with endorphins that boost mood, per Johns Hopkins Medicine. Exercise is an outlet to let out frustrations and navigate emotions. By exercising, you're lowering your risk for anxiety and depression. Team sports give you the extra edge by filling up your social meter while moving your body.