They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but taking on a new hobby in your old can be hugely beneficial to mental and physical health. 

At any point in life, new hobbies can sharpen your mind and reduce stress, but older people are much less likely to learn new skills. 

The people who do take up new pasttimes in their twilight years see huge benefits, however. 

Mary from Wexford told Lunchtime Live she started painting during lockdown. 

“I had early onset Parkinson’s,” she said. “One of the girls who also had Parkinson’s decided to give us art lessons online. 

“To my surprise, I really enjoyed it... it’s very therapeutic. 

“After lockdown, I had classes, and my art teacher is a miracle worker.” 

Woman painting on canvas. Image: mauritius images GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo

Mary said spending a few hours painting each day is better than watching television. 

“It’s another way of challenging our brain to learn something different and keeping your brain active,” she said. 

Mary’s sisters have a lot of her art hanging in their homes. 

“I’ve also given a couple as presents or when someone would admire [a painting] I would just say ‘Oh sure take that with you’,” she said. 

“I mustn’t be too bad... I’m surprised at myself.” 

Stamp collecting

Dublin native Paul went back to his childhood to find a hobby in his older years: stamp collecting. 

“When I was seven years old, my uncle gave me a stamp album and a packet of stamps and told me to get started,” he said. 

“But when you get to your teens, you find there are much more interesting things than stamp collecting: girls and rock n’ roll.” 

Despite losing most interest, Paul is a self-proclaimed hoarder and still kept all his stamps, which proved very lucky when he needed to blow off steam. 

“20 or 30 years ago, I was running a company - very stressful job,” he said. 

“In the evenings, I come home but my mind would still be racing. 

"I decided at one point I needed something to distract me from the worries and stresses of a busy business day. 

“I happened to come across my old stamp album and thought I’d start reorgnaising it.” 

Stamp collecting. Image: Ilan Rosen / Alamy Stock Photo

Unfortunately, Paul thinks we’re in the “twilight years” of stamp collecting – but he still finds it the perfect hobby. 

“I'm president of the Dublin Stamp Society,” he said. 

“It's not easy to come across a million-dollar stamp. But certainly, there are a lot of stamps running up to hundreds or thousands.” 

One of Paul’s stamps, for example, comes from an old machine outside post offices that would produce stamps. 

“The 1935 version of those stamps with no perforations on the side. One was recently sold for €10,000,” he said. 

While Paul doesn’t have any stamp worth nearly that much, he’s said he's not in it for the money. 

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