Arts lovers may age more slowly; it’s as effective as exercise
- World Half Full
- May 16
- 3 min read
CULTURE/HEALTH
People who regularly listen to music or visit a museum or art gallery or read books could be ageing more slowly, say researchers from University College London, who analysed blood test data and survey responses from more than 3,500 adults in the UK.
The team compared engagement in arts and cultural activities with chemical changes to DNA that influence biological ageing without altering the genetic code. The findings, published in the journal Innovation in Aging, also show that frequency and diversity of activity not only appear to slow the pace of ageing but have a positive effect on biological age.
The effects were comparable to those seen for exercise. For example, people who engaged in an arts activity at least once a week seemed to age 4% more slowly than those who rarely engaged with the arts — the same as those who exercised at least once a week, compared to those who did no exercise.
The links were stronger for those over the age of 40 and remained true after accounting for factors that might skew the results such as body mass index, smoking, education level, 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,” says study lead author Professor Daisy Fancourt. “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.”
Senior author Dr Feifei Bu says their study provides the first evidence that arts engagement is linked to a slower pace of biological ageing. “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.”
The research team used data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study, a nationally representative sample whose participants’ blood samples were analysed to estimate biological age and pace of ageing. Using seven epigenetic clocks — tests that look at age-related DNA changes — doing an arts activity at least three times a year was linked to ageing 2% more slowly, monthly engagement was linked to 3% slower ageing, and weekly activity to a 4% slower ageing rate, compared to those who engaged with arts less than three times a year.
In another test, which estimates biological age, people who engaged in arts and cultural activities at least weekly were a year younger on average compared to those who rarely engaged, which beats out even exercise. People who exercised at least weekly were just over half a year younger on average.
Meanwhile, seniors who listen to music may slash their dementia risk by more than a third
Researchers from Australia’s Monash University have found that people over the age of 70 who listened to music — or played an instrument — had a significantly reduced chance of developing dementia.
The new study, involving more than 10,800 people, shows that always listening to music — compared with never, rarely, or sometimes — was associated with a 39% decreased risk of dementia. Playing an instrument was associated with a 35% reduction in dementia risk, according to the study published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
Always listening to music was also associated with a 17% lower incidence of cognitive impairment, as well as higher scores in overall cognition and ‘episodic memory’, which is used when recalling everyday events.
Regularly engaging in both listening to and playing music was associated with a 33% decreased risk of dementia and 22% decreased risk of cognitive impairment.
“Evidence suggests that brain ageing is not just based on age and genetics but can be influenced by one’s own environmental and lifestyle choices,” says the study’s senior author Professor Joanne Ryan.
Comments