Going to a museum as important as exercise in slowing ageing, say academics

‘These results demonstrate the health impact of the arts at a biological level’

Going to a museum and enjoying the arts and culture could be as important as exercise in slowing ageing, a new academic study suggests today.

Academics said their study provides evidence that arts and cultural engagement should be ‘recognised as a health-promoting behaviour in a similar way to exercise’.

Researchers found that a variety of activities were seen to be useful including reading, listening to music or visiting a gallery or museum. This could because each activity has a different impact on physical, cognitive, emotional or social stimulation, they said.

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Previous work has shown that engaging with the arts can lower stress levels, reduce inflammation and improve heart disease risk, experts said.

The study, led by academics from University College London (UCL), examined the biological markers of ageing in a person’s DNA. Specific sites in DNA that regulate gene expression, known as DNA methylation, were examined as markers of ageing.

As the years go by, methylation patterns shift, forming the basis for what scientists term “epigenetic clocks”.

The study, published in the journal Innovation In Aging, saw academics examine seven of these epigenetic clocks.

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Researchers looked at survey responses and blood test data from 3,556 UK adults. They compared people’s engagements with arts and culture to chemical changes in the DNA.

They found that people who engaged with such activities more often, and had a broader range of cultural activities, appeared to have a slower pace of ageing and a younger biological age.

And they said these changes are comparable with the changes linked to exercise – those who took part an arts activity at least once a week appeared to age up to 4% more slowly than those who rarely engaged with the arts.

This was the same as those who exercised at least once a week compared with those who did no physical activity.

After studying one of the “clocks”, researchers said that 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 with those who engaged with arts fewer than three times a year.

And after examining data on another of these clocks, researchers found that people who engaged in arts and cultural activities at least weekly were a year younger on average compared with those who rarely engaged.

“These results demonstrate the health impact of the arts at a biological level,” said lead author Professor Daisy Fancourt, from UCL’s Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care.

“They provide evidence for arts and cultural engagement to be recognised as a health-promoting behaviour in a similar way to exercise. 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 added: “Our study provides the first evidence that arts and cultural 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.”