Is culture the new cardio?
We all know that regular exercise and a healthy diet help us to age well. But what if reading, singing, painting, listening to music, or visiting museums and galleries could offer the same health and well-being benefits? A University College London (UCL) research team’s findings presented in the journal ‘Innovation in Aging’(opens in new window) claim that taking part in arts and cultural activities may also hold the key to the fountain of youth.
The art of ageing well
“Our study provides the first evidence that arts and cultural engagement is linked to a slower pace of biological ageing,” commented senior author Feifei Bu, senior research fellow in statistics/epidemiology, in a UCL news release(opens in new window). “This builds on a growing body of evidence about the health impact of the arts, with arts activities being shown to reduce stress, lower inflammation and improve cardiovascular disease risk, just as exercise is known to do.” Using data from a long-term study in the United Kingdom, the researchers examined the blood samples and survey responses of over 3 500 adults, including those heavily involved in creative activities and others with minimal arts exposure. The volunteers answered a wide variety of questions, from exercise habits to questions concerning over 40 different arts activities. The team of researchers then used epigenetic clocks to evaluate participants’ rate of ageing. An epigenetic clock is a tool that measures how fast a body ages.
A diverse arts diet
The results showed that people who participated in a broad range of cultural activities on a regular basis actually aged slower and stayed biologically younger. Engaging in an art activity just once a week was linked to a 4 % slower ageing rate compared to people who rarely participated. This anti-ageing boost was most noticeable in adults over 40, and the benefits held up even when taking into account lifestyle factors such as weight, smoking, education and income. “These results demonstrate the health impact of the arts at a biological level. They provide evidence for arts and cultural engagement to be recognised as a health-promoting behaviour in a similar way to exercise,” explained lead author Daisy Fancourt, professor of psychobiology and epidemiology. “Our study also suggests that engaging in a variety of arts activities may be helpful. This may be because each activity has different ‘ingredients’ that help health, such as physical, cognitive, emotional or social stimulation.” “Our research shows that both frequency and diversity matter,” Bu told ‘CNN’(opens in new window). “The ‘best’ way would depend on the individual — their interests, what’s available to them, and what they enjoy doing consistently.” “Many of us know instinctively that taking part in creative and cultural activities is vital for a happy, flourishing life,” Hollie Smith-Charles, director of creative health and change programmes at Arts Council England, told ‘The Guardian’(opens in new window). “These impressive new findings are further evidence that arts, museums and libraries help us live well for longer, and demonstrate how vital it is that everyone, everywhere has access to excellent and affordable culture on their doorstep.”
