Olympian Tom Daley's crocheting: How does knitting help mental health?

Olympian Tom Daley is the most decorated diver in Britain's history. He is also an avid knitter. At the Paris 2024 Olympics Daley added a fifth medal to his collection and caught the world's attention knitting a bright blue Paris 24 jumper while travelling to the games and in the stands. At the Tokyo Olympics, where Daley was first spotted knitting, he explained its positive impact on his mental health. "It just turned into my mindfulness, my meditation, my calm and my way to escape the stresses of everyday life and, in particular, going to an Olympics," he said. The mental health benefits of knitting are well established. So why is someone famous like Daley knitting in public still so surprising?

Knitting is gendered
Knitting is usually associated with women especially older women as a hobby done at home. In a large international survey of knitting, 99 per cent of respondents identified as female. But the history of yarn crafts and gender is more tangled. In Europe in the Middle Ages, knitting guilds were exclusive and reserved for men. They were part of a respected Europe-wide trade addressing a demand for knitted products that could not be satisfied by domestic workers alone. The Industrial Revolution made the production of clothed goods cheaper and faster than hand-knitting. Knitting and other needlecrafts became a leisure activity for women, done in the private sphere of the home. World Wars I and II turned the spotlight back on knitting as a patriotic duty, but it was still largely taken up by women. During COVID lockdowns, knitting saw another resurgence. But knitting still most often makes headlines when men especially famous men like Daley or actor Ryan Gosling do it. Men who knit are often seen as subverting the stereotype it's an activity for older women.

Knitting the stress away
Knitting can produce a sense of pride and accomplishment. But for an elite sportsperson like Daley whose accomplishments already include four gold medals and one silver its benefits lie elsewhere. Olympics-level sport relies on perfect scores and world records. When it comes to knitting, many of the mental health benefits are associated with the process, rather than the result. Daley says knitting is the one thing that allows him to switch off completely, describing it as my therapy. The Olympian says he could "knit for hours on end, honestly. There's something so satisfying to me about just having that rhythm and that little click-clack of the knitting needles. There is not a day that goes by where I don't knit."

Knitting can create a flow state through rhythmic, repetitive movements of the yarn and needle. Flow offers us a balance between challenge, accessibility and a sense of control. It's been shown to have benefits in relieving stress in high-pressure jobs beyond elite sports. Among surgeons, knitting has been found to improve well-being as well as manual dexterity, crucial to their role. For other health professionals including oncology nurses and mental health workers knitting has helped to reduce compassion fatigue and burnout. Participants described the soothing noise of their knitting needles. They developed and strengthened team bonds through collective knitting practices. Another study showed knitting in primary school may boost children's executive function. That includes the ability to pay attention, remember relevant details and block out distractions. As a regular creative practice, it has also been used in the treatment of grief, depression and subduing intrusive thoughts, as well as countering chronic pain and cognitive decline.

Knitting is a community
The evidence for the benefits of knitting is often based on self-reporting. These studies tend to produce consistent results and involve large population samples. This may point to another benefit of knitting: its social aspect. Knitting and other yarn crafts can be done alone, and usually require simple materials. But they also provide a chance to socialise by bringing people together around a common interest, which can help reduce loneliness. The free needlecraft database and social network Ravelry contains more than one million patterns, contributed by users. Yarn bombing projects aim to engage the community and beautify public places by covering objects such as benches and stop signs with wool. The interest in Daley's knitting online videos has formed a community of their own. In them, he shows the process of making the jumper, not just the finished product. That includes where he went wrong and had to unwind his work. His pride in the finished product is a little bit wonky, but made with love can be a refreshing antidote to the flawless achievements often on display at the Olympics.