YOUR BRAIN ON ART

A useful guide to the science behind why the arts are fundamental to our physical and emotional health.

Magsamen, a faculty member at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and Ross, a vice president of design at Google, introduce readers to an emerging scientific field known as neuroaesthetics, using fascinating case studies to demonstrate how the arts have lasting benefits for our mental and physical health. In fact, approaching everyday life with an “aesthetic mindset” can change our very physiology, literally rewiring our brains. Chronic pain, for example, can be managed by dance, while those who “engage in arts and cultural activities have a lower risk of developing chronic pain as they age.” The authors also show how new parents recovering from postpartum depression feel better faster by the simple act of humming. Perhaps most shockingly, “people who engage in the arts every few months, such as going to the theatre or to a museum, have a 31 percent lower risk of dying early when compared with those who don’t.” Alongside the case studies, Magsamen and Ross present many accessible methods to bring the arts into your life, showing readers how to create a habit of participating in the arts just as you would follow a workout schedule. They analyze a variety of artistic mediums that provide benefits for the brain, including poetry, music, painting, and even doodling. “Art and science together are potent medicine,” they write, “capable of radically transforming our physical health.” From young children to adults with Alzheimer’s, the arts can improve and even extend our lives. This fascinating account of the science behind this phenomenon will inspire readers to establish their own concrete plans to incorporate as much art into their lives as possible.

Regularly engaging with the arts can make you live longer, and this absorbing book explains how.