Arts engagement slows aging as much as exercise, UCL study finds

Visiting museums, reading books, and listening to music may slow the pace of biological aging to a degree comparable to regular physical exercise, according to the first study to draw such a connection at the molecular level.

The research, published on May 11 in the journal Innovation in Aging by a team at University College London, analyzed blood samples and survey data from 3,556 adults in the UK, using epigenetic clocks — tools that read chemical patterns on DNA to estimate how fast a person is aging. The findings position arts and cultural engagement as a potential pillar of public health strategy alongside diet and exercise.academic.oup+1

What the Study Found

Using a measure called DunedinPACE, the researchers found that people who participated in arts activities at least once a week aged roughly 4 percent more slowly than those who rarely engaged. Monthly participants showed about 3 percent slower aging, while those who took part at least three times a year aged 2 percent more slowly. The difference between weekly participants and non-participants was comparable to the gap previously observed between current smokers and ex-smokers.koreaherald+2

A separate epigenetic test, PhenoAge, indicated that weekly arts participants were biologically about one year younger on average than those who seldom took part. Both the frequency and the diversity of activities — spanning reading, making music, attending performances, visiting heritage sites and libraries — were independently linked to slower aging.euronews+2

The effects were stronger among middle-aged and older adults over 40. Three of seven epigenetic clocks tested showed the association; the older clocks did not detect a benefit for either arts engagement or physical activity.academic.oup+2

'Not a Luxury, but an Essential'

"Our study found that it's not just about doing arts regularly, but also about doing a range of different arts activities," said Daisy Fancourt, lead author and head of the Social Biobehavioural Research Group at UCL. "Each type of arts activity — reading, making music, going to cultural performances, visiting heritage sites — has different effects on us cognitively, emotionally and physiologically."theartnewspaper

Fancourt urged that creative activities be treated as health-promoting behaviors. "It's important that we don't just treat it as a luxury in our lives but an essential," she said. "Regular — ideally daily — creative engagement is important to promote, just like we promote 10,000 steps a day or five-a-day of fruits and vegetables."theartnewspaper

Limitations and Next Steps

The study is observational, meaning it cannot prove that arts engagement directly causes slower aging. The research is part of a £3.5 million, seven-year program funded by Wellcome and led by UCL to investigate the global and molecular impact of arts engagement on health. Senior author Feifei Bu noted that the study provides "the first evidence that arts and cultural engagement is linked to a slower pace of biological ageing."euronews+1