5 hobbies uniquely suited for emergency medicine physicians
Industry Buzz
Palliative care, houseplants and gardening. Probably cause it balances out the dying.
—@Living-Rush1441 via Reddit
Spend enough time in the ED and you start to crave two things: control and contrast. Control over something—anything—after a shift of chaos, and contrast to the emotional intensity that defines emergency medicine.
So when a Reddit thread asked physicians to share hobbies that describe their specialty, the answers from those in emergency medicine were nothing but accurate.
Here’s how those hobbies map onto the realities of the ED—and why they’re not just fun, but clinically relevant to your own well-being.
1. ‘Counterbalance’ hobbies like gardening
Reddit user @Living-Rush1441, who works in palliative care, said they enjoy “houseplants and gardening. Probably cause it balances out the dying.”
Emergency physicians don’t need an explanation for this one. You spend your shifts stabilizing, resuscitating, and sometimes losing patients. It’s no surprise that hobbies involving growth, nurturing, and long-term horizons feel restorative.
Gardening and plant care offer something the ED rarely does: visible progress and low-stakes control. There’s also evidence behind the instinct. Leisure activities, including quiet, restorative hobbies, are reported to reduce stress and prevent exhaustion among professionals. []
More broadly, engaging in hobbies helps lower stress hormones and improve mood by redirecting attention away from work-related stressors. []
Why it works for EM:
Reintroduces patience and continuity
Provides tangible, nonclinical “wins”
Counters the emotional toll of acute care
2. Adrenaline-adjacent sports like mountain biking, climbing, MMA, and jiujitsu
Many EM physicians in the Reddit thread spoke about enjoying mountain biking, bouldering, MMA, and jiujitsu. If the ED is controlled chaos, these hobbies are chosen chaos.
High-intensity physical activities—whether it’s mountain biking, climbing, or combat sports—mirror the focus, rapid decision-making, and situational awareness emergency physicians already use at work.
The data backs it up. Exercise is strongly associated with []:
Reduced stress and improved sleep
Lower rates of depression
Better overall mental well-being
Among physicians, physical activity interventions are linked to improved well-being and may help address burnout.[]
Why it works for EM:
Replicates the cognitive demands of the ED—without the stakes
Builds physical resilience for long shifts
Provides a clean psychological “off-switch”
3. Social-competitive sports like pickleball
Reddit user and EM physician @Hydrate-N-Moisturize said they’ve “been really enjoying pickleball lately. Something about beating the nerdy IM folks in anything that's remotely physical brings me joy.”
There’s a reason pickleball is everywhere right now—and it’s not just because it’s easy on the joints.
Social sports combine moderate physical activity and community, which may be a sweet spot for reducing burnout. Moderate exercise levels are associated with lower emotional exhaustion and a greater sense of accomplishment. []
And hobbies that include social interaction can reduce loneliness and improve overall well-being. []
For emergency physicians who often work irregular hours and rotate teams, this kind of predictable, low-stakes social structure can be grounding.
Why it works for EM:
Rebuilds camaraderie outside the hospital Adds playfulness to physical activity
Scratches the competitive itch in a harmless way
4. Mind-body activities like cold plunges, hiking, philosophy, and journaling
Reddit user and EM physician @mexicanmister said they enjoy cold plunging, hiking, and journaling in their spare time.
Emergency medicine is cognitively intense but emotionally compressed. There’s rarely time to process what just happened before the next patient rolls in.
Activities like hiking and journaling:
Encourage mental decompression
Improve emotional processing
Create psychological distance from work
Even simple outdoor exercise, like walking, can help you “unwind” and improve well-being. []
Why it works for EM:
Helps process cumulative stress
Restores attention and decision-making capacity
Builds long-term emotional resilience
5. Creative escapes like music
In addition to pickleball, Reddit user @Hydrate-N-Moisturize said they enjoy playing guitar. Not everything has to be high-intensity or explicitly “wellness-oriented.”
Creative hobbies offer something different: absorption. The kind where you lose track of time and stop thinking about work altogether.
That mental shift matters. Hobbies, especially immersive ones, allow the brain to disengage from stress and recover—something ED physicians rarely get during shifts.
Why it works for EM:
Provides true cognitive detachment
Encourages flow states
Rebuilds identity outside of medicine