Art activities can help improve your health, extend your life by up to 10 years [Video]

Most people don’t pick up a colouring book, paintbrush, poetry collection or museum membership for the health benefits — but maybe it’s time to start.

Research shows that art experiences, whether as a maker or a beholder, transform our biology by rewiring our brains and triggering the release of neurochemicals, hormones and endorphins.

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In response to a growing body of evidence that art can radically improve both physical and mental health in effective and measurable ways, more health care practitioners are prescribing arts engagement as part of treating a wide array of conditions, including: obesity, heart disease, chronic pain, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, loneliness and depression.

The power of diverse arts practices to promote healing, well-being and even longevity provides benefits that rank right up there with exercise, nutrition and sleep, argued Susan Magsamen in her bestseller, “Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us,” coauthored with Ivy Ross.

Could this be …