- New research from the United Kingdom shows that people who engage in artistic pursuits of various kinds experience a slower pace of aging.
- The study even suggests that the positive effect of having an active cultural life is akin to that of regular exercise.
- While this study does not prove a causal relationship, the researchers believe that artistic and creative pursuits can have beneficial effects on many aspects of health, including lowering inflammation and protecting brain health.
Participating in creative pursuits and engaging with arts and culture is good for the soul but could it also help the body stay in shape? That seems to be what a new study from University College London (UCL) in the United Kingdom is suggesting.
The study — whose findings appear in the journal Innovation in Aging — has found an association between engagement with arts and culture and a slower pace of biological aging.
Other studies have connected creativity with better cognitive health. For instance, research published in
It may be, however, that creative and artistic interests and activities may help the entire body maintain its youthfulness in some respect.
Speaking to Medical News Today, one of the study authors, Feifei Bu, PhD, principal research fellow in statistics/epidemiology within the Social Biobehavioural Research Group in the Department of Behavioural Science and Health at UCL, said that the research team was keenly interested in exploring just how artistic interest can actually shape our health throughout our lives.
“However, very little research has examined whether its benefits are biologically embedded — so that’s what we wanted to explore in this study,” she told MNT.
In their study, the UCL researchers assessed survey responses regarding their engagement in arts and culture, as well as blood test results provided by 3,556 participants with a mean age of about 52 years. A little more than half of the participants were female, and the rest male.
In brief, the researchers wanted to see how engagement in the arts and culture would correlate with
They used no fewer than 7 epigenetic clocks in their research, which are tools for assessing age-related DNA changes.
Two of the younger-generation epigenetic clocks used, in particular — called DunedinPoAm and DunedinPACE — help provide an estimate of the pace at which a person is aging. The faster the pace of aging, the more likely it is that a person also has a higher risk of developing age-related conditions.
Another epigenetic clock, called PhenoAge, helped the researchers estimate individuals’ biological ages.
Overall, tests conducted using the three next-gen epigenetic clocks suggested that the more people engaged in artistic and cultural activities, and the wider the breadth of their cultural-artistic interests, the slower their pace of aging, and the younger their estimated biological age.
According to DunedinPACE data, engaging in artistic pursuits at least 3 times a year was linked to a 2% slower aging pace, and engaging in creative pursuits on a monthly basis was linked to a 3% slower aging pace compared to engaging with arts less than 3 times a year.
Those who pursued cultural activities on a weekly had a 4% slower aging rate compared to those who pursued such activities less than 3 times a year.
Notably, these positive associations appeared to be on a par with the beneficial effects of exercise on aging, as the researchers also found that individuals who exercised on a weekly basis had a similarly slower aging pace.
These associations persisted with regard to biological age: according to PhenoAge tests, participants who engaged in artistic pursuits on a weekly basis or more frequently were 1 year younger on average compared to those who rarely pursued creative or cultural activities.
The researchers noted a similar association between weekly or more frequent exercise and biological age.
These associations were strongest for participants 40 years of age or older, and persisted even after the researchers accounted for confounding factors including body mass index (BMI), smoking status, education, and income level.
The older epigenetic clocks did not reveal any associations between more frequent cultural engagement and slower aging pace, or between exercise and and aging pace. The study authors believe this may be because the older generation of epigenetic clocks are less sensitive predictors of age-related changes.
Commenting on this study, Şebnem Ünlüişler, Chief Longevity Officer and genetic engineer at the London Regenerative Institute, in the United Kingdom, who was not involved in the research, said she was heartened by the findings:
“The findings are really encouraging — it is particularly interesting that arts and cultural engagement showed a measurable association with slower biological ageing, highlighting the importance of emotional wellbeing, creativity and social connection in long-term health. While the study does not establish causation, it adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting that meaningful lifestyle experiences may positively influence ageing pathways.”
Likewise, Opel Baker, MBChB, DipOccMed, MRCGP, general practitioner at the Mayfield Clinic Brighton and Hove, U.K., who was also not involved in the research, noted that he found the paper “really interesting.”
“Studies like this are incredibly important because they remind us that health is not shaped by medicine alone, but by how we live, connect and engage with the world around us,” Baker told us.
He noted that in his own experience as a family doctor he has witnessed “the profound impact that artistic and creative pursuits can have on both mental and physical wellbeing.”
According to Bu, it does not matter what artistic, creative, or cultural activities a person chooses, as long as they engage in plenty of such pursuits — the more diverse the better.
“The arts cover a wide range of activities, each offering a distinct set of ‘active ingredients’ — [such as] esthetics, sensory or physical stimulation, social interaction, and emotional evocation — that benefit health,” the researcher told us.
“Our research shows that both frequency and diversity matter. The ‘most useful’ way would depend on the individual — their interests, what’s available to them, and what they enjoy doing consistently.”
– Feifei Bu, PhD
“Whether it is painting, music, dance, theatre or simply engaging with culture more regularly, these activities provide emotional release, cognitive stimulation, stress reduction and often valuable social connection, all of which are strongly linked to healthier aging,” Baker also said.
In Ünlüişler’s opinion, “activities that combine multiple benefits simultaneously may be particularly impactful.” She offered dance as an example, noting that it “incorporates movement, coordination, music, and social interaction, supporting both physical and cognitive health.”
Another example she cited was “group singing [which] may also offer unique benefits through breath control, emotional expression, and social bonding.”
“However,” Ünlüişler emphasized, “the study suggests that regular and meaningful engagement may matter more than any single activity itself.”
Bu stressed that the current study is “an observational study, [and thus] shows an association, not causation.”
“Although these findings are promising, more research is needed to cross-validate these findings and to strengthen the evidence for causality,” she cautioned.
Still, the study author had some working hypotheses as to the potential biological mechanisms that might underlie the association between engagement in artistic and cultural pursuits and a slower rate of aging.
According to her, “a likely explanation is that arts engagement helps reduce stress, inflammation and cardiovascular risks, all of which have been shown to be linked to epigenetic aging.”
Ünlüişler hypothesized that one key mechanism mediating the association between regular cultural engagement and a slower pace of aging is stress reduction.
“Chronic stress can accelerate aging through increased cortisol levels, inflammation and nervous system dysregulation, whereas activities such as music, painting, or dance may promote relaxation and emotional regulation,” she explained.
“Arts engagement may also support brain health through cognitive stimulation and neuroplasticity,” which refers to the brain’s ability to build fresh connections between neurons, Ünlüişler continued.
“In addition, social and creative activities are associated with improved mood, reduced inflammation, and a stronger sense of purpose, all factors linked to healthier aging,” she pointed out.
Baker agreed, making similar points to Bu and Ünlüişler, emphasizing the importance of lowering stress levels and building a sense of community through artistic pursuits:
“Chronic stress and isolation are two of the biggest contributors to poor long-term health, inflammation and accelerated ageing. Artistic pursuits can counteract this by promoting relaxation, improving mood, supporting brain function and creating a sense of purpose and fulfilment. What is particularly encouraging about this research is that it reframes creativity not as a luxury, but as something that may genuinely support longevity and overall health outcomes.”
The UCL research team is not stopping at this study. Going forward, they are planning to validate the current findings on different populations, and to expand the research to look at other possible health benefits of cultural engagement.
“We plan to cross-validate these findings across different countries and populations. We also want to look beyond epigenetic clocks and explore other biological outcomes related to arts and cultural engagement.”
– Feifei Bu, PhD
Baker and Ünlüişler both also wanted to see further research validating the findings of the current study.
“Epigenetic aging clocks are still a relatively young area of research, and while they are promising, they currently show correlation rather than direct causation. This means we cannot yet say definitively that arts engagement slows biological ageing, only that there appears to be an association that warrants further investigation,” Baker pointed out.
Ünlüişler “would like to see long-term interventional studies exploring whether arts engagement can actively slow biological aging over time and which mechanisms are most responsible, such as stress reduction, inflammation control, or neurological resilience.”
“Further research into brain health, dementia prevention and emotional wellbeing would also be especially valuable, as healthy aging is ultimately about maintaining quality of life as well as longevity,” she stressed.
Overall, though, all the experts’ takeaway message was the current positive findings ought to encourage us all to tap into our creative interests as much as possible.
“We are increasingly recognising that healthy aging must involve emotional wellbeing, cognitive resilience and quality of life alongside physical health. Creative engagement has the potential to support all of these areas in a meaningful and accessible way,” Baker concluded.
