Art Is GOOD For You

If you’re tired at staring at blank walls, why not add a little colour and art to your surroundings? 

(Remember: science says it’s good for you.)

 A new study from University College London found a link between participating in arts-related activities and living longer. The researchers discovered that those who engaged in the arts at least every few months had a 31 percent lower risk of dying early than those who did not, while those who participated in the arts just once or twice a year had a14 percent lower risk. Part of the reason for the difference in life longevity can be chalked up to socioeconomic differences between those who go to museums, art galleries, and theatres, and those who cannot. Although wealth accounted for around 9 percent of the correlation, and factors like cognitive differences, social and civic engagement, and mobility also played a role, over half of the association was independent of these factors.

Daisy Fancourt, associate professor at UCL’s Research Department of Behavioral Science and Health and an author of the study, told CNN Style:
We also thought that a greater sense of purpose could play a role. If this [study] is added to the larger body of evidence, we are getting an increasingly rich picture on how arts can benefit health and it’s not about one single outcome. 
It can have wide-ranging benefits and support healthier lives lived longer.
An editorial accompanying the study said its findings added to the growing concerns around the decline of arts subjects in high schools and colleges and argued that activities like going to museums, concerts, and the theatre should be open to everyone, regardless of socioeconomic status.

The UCL study looked at data from over 6,000 adults in England who were 50 years and older. In 2004 and 2005, researchers measured how often the participants engaged in cultural activities, like going to exhibitions, concerts, and the opera (but excluding going to the movies). The scientists followed up with participants over a 14-year period to see how long they lived. They then looked at all the economic, health, and social factors that could impact longevity, and while they found a correlation between engaging in arts and living longer, they could not establish a cause for this connection.
The following is a piece on a Norwegian and University of Arkansas study seems to back up these statistics

Want to improve your health? Forget fad diets or fasts and try looking at some art.

It’s true—recent studies and research have proven that a trip to the art gallery or a museum can positively impact your health and well-being in several essential ways, like lowering anxiety and depression and boosting critical thinking skills. Here are some hard facts on why art is good for your body (and your soul).

Viewing art makes you healthier

A research study in Norway, known as the Nord-Trondelag Health Study, collected information from 130,000 Norwegians ages 13 and up. The study questioned more than 50,000 men and women about how often they participated in cultural activities like attending galleries and museums or viewing films.


According to Koenraad Cuypers, a researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, the study discovered that there was a definite correlation between participating in cultural activities—like creating art or attending concerts—and having increased rates of good health, satisfaction with one’s life, and lower rates of anxiety and depression in both men and women. 

Image by bigter choi from Pixabay

Specifically, 84 percent of those who participated in at least 4 art-related activities reported good health, 
and 91 percent reported high level of satisfaction in their lives.

Furthermore, the study concluded that these benefits were found in people who both created or consumed the arts. That means that people who enjoy looking at art get the exact same health benefits as people who enjoy making art. Interestingly enough, females received more benefits from actively creating art, while males got more benefits from passively viewing art. Museum and gallery visits improve thinking and empathy.

A study published by the University of Arkansas in 2014 determined the impact of students taking a field trip to an art museum, showing that the visit changed how the students thought and felt for the better. More than 10,000 students were surveyed, and the majority of them (70 to 88 percent) retained factual information from the tours. Students also displayed improved critical thinking skills as well as gains in tolerance and historical empathy following the trip.

Art can help you mimic the physical sensation of falling in love

Additionally, science has shown that viewing beautiful artwork can actually cause you to experience the same physical reactions we get when we fall in love.

Professor Semir Zeki, a neurobiologist with the University of London, scanned the brains of volunteers while they viewed 28 works of art. Zeki discovered when a person views art they find beautiful, it triggers an immediate release of dopamine into the brain–a chemical related to feelings of love, pleasure, and desire. These scientific studies just prove what many great thinkers and philosophers have expressed in the past.

Plato, for instance, believed that the arts were powerful shapers of character, able to stir up emotions and influence our behaviour. Meanwhile, G.W.F. Hegel saw art’s role as giving intuitive, sensuous benefits to the viewer by showing us what divine and human freedom can look like.
It turns out that the philosophers were right. Art CAN make you happier. Art CAN nourish both your body and spirit—and it can do it in ways that a salad or supplement never could.

So, for the good for your health, go look at some art, OK?

Image by Silentpilot from Pixabay

Source: ArtNet, CNN, The Telegraph, University College London. A compilation of news stories edited for length.