Art Promotes a Long and Healthy Life

15
Apr 20
0

Category:Updates

Did you know that people who enjoy art and participate regularly in cultural activities tend to live longer? This is the conclusion of a recent study (published in the British Medical Journal) of over six thousand people aged 50 and over in England. The researchers saw an increase in longevity among people who attended plays, dance recitals, and concerts or who visited art galleries and museums. People who attended cultural events like these once or twice a month had a 31 percent increase in life expectancy!

Of course, people who are healthy, well educated, and affluent may be especially likely to participate in cultural activities. The researchers, however, accounted for people’s health (physical and mental), education, occupational status, and income in their analysis. Art appeared to increase longevity, irrespective of how well off people were when the study began.

Many studies (not just the most recent one described here) support the idea that the arts have benefits for health and wellbeing. Why would exposure to the arts help people to live longer? Art stimulates people’s thinking, produces positive emotions, and helps to reduce stress. Attending cultural events also increases people’s engagement with the larger social world. And perhaps art simply makes life richer and more interesting.

With the current shutdown of art galleries, museums, theaters, and concert halls, it is difficult for people to get their regular doses of culture. In times like these, the internet can be extremely useful. Are you missing the arts? Many museums around the world have made their collections and exhibits available online. Below are some web sites with links that allow you to see some of the world’s greatest art from the comfort of your own home. Other web sites allow you to access music, theater, dance, and poetry.

Visual Arts

https://artsandculture.google.com

https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours

https://www.timeout.com/travel/virtual-museum-tours

https://www.vermontartonline.org/virtualexhibits

https://www.vam.ac.uk

Also, if you participate in Facebook or Instagram, keep in mind that our very own Juniata College Museum of Art is posting images from the two exhibitions it had planned for this year: The Ideal and the Real from the Robert Wagoner Collection and the Senior Capstone 2020.