Arts engagement linked to slower biological aging, study finds

A study has found that singing, painting or visiting a gallery or museum can slow the pace of biological aging, adding to evidence that engagement with arts and culture improves health.

The findings are the first to show that both participating in arts activities and attending cultural events, such as exhibitions, are associated with younger biological age.

“These results demonstrate the health impact of the arts at a biological level. They provide evidence for arts and cultural engagement to be recognised as a health-promoting behaviour in a similar way to exercise,” said Prof Daisy Fancourt, lead author and head of the social biobehavioural research group at University College London.

However, slower biological aging does not necessarily mean a longer lifespan. The study used epigenetic clocks to assess aging, which are predictive of future morbidity and mortality, but further research is needed to establish causal effects on longevity.

Those who engaged in artistic pursuits most frequently showed the greatest slowing of aging. One assessment method found that weekly engagement slowed aging by 4%, while monthly engagement slowed it by 3%.

Another test showed that those who undertook an arts activity at least once a week were on average a year younger biologically than those who rarely engaged. In comparison, those who exercised once a week were only six months younger by that measure.

The benefit of arts engagement on aging is comparable to the difference between smokers and those who have quit smoking, researchers said.

“Our study provides the first evidence that arts and cultural engagement is linked to a slower pace of biological ageing,” said Dr Feifei Bu, senior author and UCL academic. “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.”

The results, published in the journal Innovation in Aging, are based on blood test and survey response data from 3,556 adults in the UK Household Longitudinal Study. The study used blood samples to estimate biological age and aging pace.

Participants were asked how often over the past year they had sung, danced, painted, taken photographs or crafted, or attended an art exhibition or event, visited a heritage site, museum, library or archive.

“Many of us know instinctively that taking part in creative and cultural activities is vital for a happy, flourishing life,” said Hollie Smith-Charles, director of creative health and change programmes at Arts Council England. “These impressive new findings are further evidence that arts, museums and libraries help us live well for longer, and demonstrate how vital it is that everyone, everywhere has access to excellent and affordable culture on their doorstep.”

Evidence has been emerging that the arts can improve mental and physical health. A 2019 World Health Organization report by Fancourt and Saoirse Finn highlighted initiatives such as playing music to patients before surgery and using the arts with people with dementia.

In the latest study, middle-aged and older adults aged 40 and above received the biggest boost to aging pace from arts participation.

“Across the arts sector we have known for a long time that getting creative yields extraordinary benefits for our health, and this latest research adds a vital new piece to the puzzle, proving that arts and culture can even slow down the biological clock,” said Mark Ball, artistic director of the Southbank Centre, a multi-arts venue in London.

The Southbank complex was born in 1951 out of the Festival of Britain. Its description as “a tonic for the nation” was not a coincidence, Ball said.

“It was an explicit recognition that, after the destruction and gloom of the second world war, the country needed to be convened through the arts to find a sense of optimism and healing. That sentiment is enduring and is needed now, more than ever.”

This article was amended on 12 May 2026 to correct that the Southbank complex was born in 1951, not 1941 as an earlier version said.