The Bay Area has long been a cultural hub for world-class arts along with attracting its respective creators, affording locals many opportunities for artistic immersion and enjoyment. But besides just sheer pleasure, for those of us on a wellness path, can the arts also actually improve our well-being?
An entire field, neuroaesthetics, devoted to answering that question explores the interaction of the arts and wellness and the “impact of artistic beauty on the human psyche and biological well-being.” Susan Magsamen, founder and executive director of the International Arts+ Mind Lab, an initiative of the Brain Science Institute at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, states in her article “Your Brain on Art: The Case of Neuroaesthetics,” “The field of neuroaesthetics offers research-based evidence that a variety of arts-based approaches may work to improve quality of life, mobility, mental health, speech, memory, pain, learning and more.
Such interventions could potentially lower the cost and burden of chronic disease, neurological disorders, and mental health issues for millions of people.”
Art is everywhere—if we look. The choices of how we engage with it are endless, from traditional, more passive, experiences such as visiting a museum or a performance to actively creating art ourselves or dropping into a high-tech art immersion installation. We just must make the time.
Increasingly, research is showing it really does not matter what kind of art you engage with to improve well-being, although active participation is the best. “Art” in this article refers collectively to a myriad of creative expressions—music, singing, dance, visual arts, writing and poetry, etc. Whether you are an appreciator or a creator, it is all good—within reason, of course. (If you are a musician or rock concert goer, you might want to watch those decibel levels to protect your hearing, for example.).
And if you choose to actively participate and be a creator or maker, you do not have to be Chopin or Monet. No need for judgment or high achievement to gain benefits: it is the creative act that brings the benefits. Even something as simple as doodling, journaling, or coloring (as a child or an adult) qualifies.
Art’s Many Health Benefits
A Mayo Clinic blog post, “The intersection of art and health: How art can help promote well-being,” cites the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine on how “making or even just seeing art can impact health” in the following ways:
- “Increases serotonin levels.”
- “Increases blood flow to the part of the brain associated with pleasure.”
- “Fosters new ways of thinking.”
- (Helps us) “to imagine a more hopeful future.”
Art helps us in other ways, too. Artists and appreciators alike talk about “getting into the zone” or a state of “flow” through the creative arts. In this state, our anxiety decreases; we become more focused and present in the moment, more creative. It is a way to fast-track mindfulness.
Through the arts, we can escape the pressures of daily life: work, family pressures, and other toxic influences such as a 24/7 news and social media cycle. Too, art fosters connection to ourselves and toothers: theartist to those who love the arts we love providing us with community. It connects us to a sense of place—sometimes spanning centuries—to our history as humans, and to our humanity.
Art is a form of communication between the creator and the viewer/listener that transcends time. The simple act of self-expression can release emotions, heal trauma (with professional support), and improve confidence and self-esteem. Engaging with the arts exposes us to innovative ideas, new learnings, and ways of thinking and doing which, in turn, increase the brain’s neuroplasticity, its ability to form new connections.
A 2022 study of participants in four age groups asked them to rank artistic activities that helped them “feel better.” “Across all age groups, singing was ranked among the top activities.” According to Susan Magsamen, Susan Magsamen, an assistant professor of neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, “music can be effective at reducing stress because things like rhythm and repetitive lyrics and chords engage multiple regions of the brain.”
It was her love of singing and music that inspired Haute Living, San Francisco publisher Olivia Decker to launch the Olivia Decker Power of Music Series with Festival Napa Valley. “I firmly believe music heals the mind, inspires the spirit, and relaxes the body more than anything. It also unites people,” she said.
Too, artistic endeavors may help manage chronic pain through a concentrated focus. Jackie Armstrong, Associate Educator, Visitor Research and Experience at the Metropolitan Museum of Art shared on her blog, “In living with autoimmune illnesses and chronic pain, art has helped me to be with my symptoms in a different way. The emotional outlet art offers can help dial down the physical sensations, sometimes by simply turning my mind away from them.”
No wonder some doctors now prescribe museum visits, art classes, and other creative experiences as a complement to other therapies and treatments. Julia Cameron, renowned speaker and author of many books on creativity. including the worldwide bestseller The Artist’s Way, encourages us to take a weekly solo “artist’s date” which she says is essential to creative awakening.
The artist’s date is sheer play, and “that makes it much harder to do,” she says. The idea is to leave your daily routine behind and go on an outing that inspires you. It could be a visit to a museum, a bookstore, a special garden or a flower shop, whatever you fancy. It is your date and no one else’s. She says to think of these “dates” as one-half “artist” and one-half “date.”
High-Tech Wellness-Art-tainment: A New Trend
Global Wellness (GW) in their TRENDIUM mentions a hot 2024 trend ushering in “a new era of Wellness-Art-Tainment” with “more high-tech, multisensory experiments” particularly in spa and wellness.” These new multisensory art installations and experiences are becoming more popular across museums, hospitals, hotels, and spas.
GW attributes this emerging trend to the convergence of new technologies in generative AI, projection mapping VR, holograms, LED screens and spatial sound, etc. But the word “experiments” is on point. There is still much neuroscientists don’t understand about the calibration of these multi-sensory immersions and their effect on the brain and body; caution must be exercised.
The “Sensory Techtopias” report by creative agency VML notes, “while 64% of people expect virtual experiences to activate all their senses; 54% report finding multisensory experiences overwhelming.” This may be particularly problematic for certain individuals prone to migraines and other conditions. Just watching the video that garnered 70 million views on TikTok of QC Terme’s multisensory cinema pool in its Milan Spa seemed overwhelming to me.
However, not all these experiences max out the senses—some can be soothing and even pique curiosity. I remember attending Asia’s leading technology show several years back. The National Museum had an exhibit whereby via virtual reality one could enter a 12th century painting of a peasant village.
It was ethereal and beautiful once you forgot about the clunky VR set on your head. Recently, the San Francisco’s deYoung Museum had their “Fashioning San Francisco: A Century of Style” exhibit. Visitors could see themselves in three iconic looks via a Snapchat Augmented Reality Mirror. These two examples mix old and new mediums into a real-life experience.
The world is your oyster. Technology has made it possible to visit museums virtually all over the world without leaving home. This is a terrific opportunity for folks too busy to travel or for older adults who might have mobility issues.
Through Google Arts and Culture, you can access more than 1,200 international museums and galleries through virtual tours, including the Met. Other museums such as the Vatican and the Louvre provide access to virtual tours via their websites.
Healthcare Settings Are Incorporating More Art
As the benefits of arts in healing become more accepted, the arts are being incorporated into healthcare settings such as hospitals and health care, drug, and alcohol treatment facilities. Implementation, according to Mayo Clinic Press, usually falls into one of two general categories:
- “Arts in Health: which can include artists trained to help patients have positive creative experiences in a healthcare setting or art in the physical spaces where care is delivered.”
- “Creative Arts Therapies: which includes a licensed professional engaging a patient in arts to address a specific condition or health goal. Therapy can be delivered through visual art, dance, music, poetry or drama and there are corresponding licenses for each type of art specialization.” These therapies theorize “that artistic expression helps people feel better and more motivated to recover while addressing clinical needs such as reducing anxiety and blood pressure.”
The Mayo Clinic’s Dolores Jean Lavins Center for Humanities in Medicine manages internal arts programs including:
- “Arts at the Bedside: artists visit with patients and offer opportunities to create art during their hospital stay.”
- “Mayo Humanities TV Channel: featuring recorded concerts, lectures, and other art programs on demand in patient rooms.”
In addition to arts in traditional healthcare settings, there are community arts-based programs that have evolved and are available to address certain health issues, such as Dance for Parkinson’s (the Bay Area has five locations).
On their website, they cite the following health benefits of dance: “develops strength, fluidity, stamina, and balance; improves cognition connecting the mind to the body; offers social connections and a sense of belonging; sparks creativity and develops problem solving skills; can express stories and emotions through our bodies and how the essence of dance is joy.
We are learning how important movement is for optimal health. Sounds like we should all be dancing, doesn’t it?
In short, carve out time to engage in the arts as part of a well-balanced wellness program and indulge your creative spirit!
Note: Nothing in this article constitutes medical advice.
Lydia is a passionate advocate of healthy living. She has launched and positioned many health and wellness-related companies, products, technologies and organizations receiving more than 100 awards nationally and internationally. Her focus in the health sector is specifically on healthy living, aging and longevity. She is a partner and investor in several recognized national brands. She sits on the board of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging whose mission is to eliminate the threat of age-related disease for today’s and future generations. It is the only independent research organization globally dedicated to extending the healthy years of life. Like the scientists at the Buck, Graham envisions it will be possible for people to enjoy life at 95 as much as at 25. To support Buck’s mission, please visit www.buckinstitute.org.