Forget Diets: A Dose of Art Could Extend Your Life

New research suggests that adding art to your daily routine is as important as eating vegetables or exercising. It could make you healthier, happier, and even help you live longer. Experts say we should treat creative engagement like essential medicine. A major study found that people who regularly engaged with arts had a 31% lower risk of dying during the research period. This was true even after accounting for income, age, and existing health. Other studies show that monthly cultural activities, like visiting a museum, can almost halve the risk of depression. Attending live music or seeing art can even make people physiologically younger. Professor Daisy Fancourt of University College London compiled this evidence in her book. She argues that if a drug had similar benefits, governments would heavily fund it. Instead, funding for culture and arts education in the UK has been cut. This comes as many people abandon their New Year's resolutions by the second Friday of January, nicknamed "Quitter's Day." The new advice is to add pleasures, not deny them. Joining a choir, learning to dance, or going to a gallery may be the key to a successful and healthier year.