Arts and Culture Engagement: The Key to Better Physical Health, Improved Mental Wellbeing, and Slower Biological Aging?

A recent 2026 study published in the Innovation in Aging journal by Daisy Fancourt, PhD, Lehané Masebo, MSc, Saoirse Finn, PhD, Hei Wan Mak, PhD, and Feifei Bu, PhD provides the first evidence that arts and culture engagement is associated with a slower pace of biological aging.

Using data from 3,556 adults in the 2010-2012 UK Household Longitudinal Study, epigenetic (biological aging) clocks, and regression techniques, the study found that arts and culture engagement was related to slower biological aging in 3 of the 7 measured epigenetic clocks, with a relationship comparable in magnitude to that between physical activity and slower biological aging.

This The Guardian article by Denis Campbell summarizes these findings, highlighting how individuals with the greatest artistic involvement showed the slowest pace of biological aging, with those engaging weekly slowing their aging process by 4%. Similarly, those who participated in an arts activity at least once a week were on average a year younger biologically than those who rarely participated, with exercise only corresponding to a 6-month difference by the same measure.

Along with slower biological aging, arts activities have also been shown to reduce stress, lower inflammation, and reduce cardiovascular disease risk, according to Dr. Feifei Bu, a UCL academic and one of the authors of the study.

Daisy Fancourt, another author of the study, outlines in this The Guardian article that arts and culture engagement also provides mental health benefits. Singing, dancing, reading, crafts, and cultural pursuits have been shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety and stress for people of all ages, and regularly attending theatre, live music events, museums, galleries, and the cinema nearly halves the risk of depression.

A Cambridge University Press study conducted by Jaakko Erkkilä, Marko Punkanen, Jörg Fachner, Esa Ala-Ruona, Inga Pöntiö, Mari Tervaniemi, Mauno Vanhala, and Christian Gold supports Fancourt’s claims, finding that combining creative arts therapies such as music therapy with standard care (i.e., antidepressants and counselling) led to greater improvements in patients’ depression symptoms compared to standard care alone.

Additionally, Fancourt cites the arts as a “very efficient workout,” highlighting how arts engagement can strengthen connectivity between brain regions, keep the brain younger, and protect against cognitive decline by engaging sensory processing, memory, movement, and pattern recognition.

Combined, these findings spotlight how engaging in arts and culture contributes meaningfully to physical health, mental wellbeing, and healthy biological aging, suggesting that these activities should be recognized as health-promoting behaviours in public health strategies the same way exercise is.

Here at the BC Alliance for Arts + Culture, we are recognizing the connection between arts and culture engagement and increased wellbeing through our Arts on Prescription project, a multi-year, community-engaged research project that explores the benefits of prescribing arts and culture experiences to enhance people’s health and wellness (this idea is also known as “social prescribing”). To learn more about Arts on Prescription, read about social prescribing, or find more evidence of arts improving health, visit: https://www.allianceforarts.com/arts-on-prescription.