Research suggests visit to museums, galleries & concerts can help you live longer

A study by researchers from University College London (UCL) found that people who engaged in the arts more frequently had a 31 per cent lower risk of dying early. This includes going to the theater or museum once or twice a year which was also linked with a 14 per cent lower risk. The study is based on data given by more than 6,000 adults in England within the age group of 50 years and older. Daisy Fancourt, an associate professor at UCL's Research Department of Behavioural Science and Health, and an author of the study wrote in the BMJ journal that leisure and pleasure activities that people don't think as a health-related activity do support good health and longevity. This was applicable even though other health behaviours like smoking, alcohol, and exercise are undoubtedly bigger predictors of mortality, she wrote.

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Arts engagement to live longer

The researchers initially studied exhibitions, concerts, and opera but not cinema from 2004 to 2005. Participants were then followed up for an average of 12 years, during which time deaths were recorded using data from the UK's National Health Service (NHS). The researchers tried to establish a link between a range of economic, health and social factors to try and explain why "arts engagement" was related to living longer. There were also social and economic differences among those who go and don't go to museums, exhibitions and art galleries, the researchers noted. About 9 per cent of the association was related to wealth. Besides this, cognitive differences, social and civic engagement, mental health, mobility and disability, and deprivation also played a role. Fancourt said that things like free time and occupational status made no material difference.

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Explaining the importance of arts in life, she said that engaging with the arts can act as a buffer against stress and build creativity that allows people to adapt to changing circumstances. As a result, it helps people build social capital, accessing emotional support and information that helps people age more successfully.

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WHO report on arts engagement

A separate World Health Organization review of available evidence published earlier this year also found that both receptive participation, like visiting a museum, and active participation, like singing in a choir, had health benefits. The WHO study also raised concerns about the decline in arts subjects in schools and universities. There is a lot of published work about the positive neurophysiological changes induced by activities, including the arts, which enable 'deep play' or 'flow'. Experts suggest that the clinicians who read the paper might recognize the value of the arts, but will also wonder how engagement with culture and the arts could influence longevity.

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