Art Cure
"A groundbreaking exposé showing how the arts―alongside diet, sleep, exercise and nature―are the forgotten fifth pillar of health
From cradle to grave, engaging in the arts has remarkable effects on our health and well-being. Music supports the architectural development of children’s brains. Artistic hobbies help our brains to stay resilient against dementia. Dance and magic tricks build new neural pathways for people with brain injuries. Arts and music act just like drugs to decrease depression, stress, and pain, reducing our dependence on medication. Going to live music events, museums, exhibitions, and the theater decreases our risk of future loneliness and frailty. Engaging in the arts improves the functioning of every major organ system in the body, even helping us to live longer.
This isn’t sensationalism, it’s science: the results of decades of studies gathering data from neuroimaging, molecular biomarkers, wearable sensors, cognitive assessments, and electronic health records. From professor Daisy Fancourt, an award-winning scientist and science communicator and director of the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Centre for Arts and Health, this book will fundamentally change the way you value and engage with the arts in your daily life and give you the tools to optimize how, when, and what arts you engage in to achieve your health goals. The arts are not a luxury in our lives. They are essential."
From cradle to grave, engaging in the arts has remarkable effects on our health and well-being. Music supports the architectural development of children’s brains. Artistic hobbies help our brains to stay resilient against dementia. Dance and magic tricks build new neural pathways for people with brain injuries. Arts and music act just like drugs to decrease depression, stress, and pain, reducing our dependence on medication. Going to live music events, museums, exhibitions, and the theater decreases our risk of future loneliness and frailty. Engaging in the arts improves the functioning of every major organ system in the body, even helping us to live longer.
This isn’t sensationalism, it’s science: the results of decades of studies gathering data from neuroimaging, molecular biomarkers, wearable sensors, cognitive assessments, and electronic health records. From professor Daisy Fancourt, an award-winning scientist and science communicator and director of the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Centre for Arts and Health, this book will fundamentally change the way you value and engage with the arts in your daily life and give you the tools to optimize how, when, and what arts you engage in to achieve your health goals. The arts are not a luxury in our lives. They are essential."
8 Billion Artists
Have you ever hummed a made-up tune in the shower? Doodled in your notebook when you should have been working? Taken a photo on your phone? Danced (however awkwardly) at a party? Improvised a bawdy limerick? However much you might resist the labeling or protest that you’re not “artistic” or “creative,” the evidence is to the contrary. We are also all producers of art. We are a planet of 8 billion artists.
Fancourt, Daisy. Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Save Lives (p. 5). Celadon Books. Kindle Edition.
A Daily Dose
...the more you understand about the ways different flavors of arts experiences affect your mind, brain, body, and behavior, the more you’ll know how to apply the arts in your own life to maximize your health. Yes, doctors can “prescribe” the arts—I’ll share a “daily dose” of my recommendations at the end of each chapter.
Fancourt, Daisy. Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Save Lives (pp. 12-13). Celadon Books. Kindle Edition.
Choose what Type of Activity Resonates with You
There is no hard-and-fast rule about what type of activity is best. Choice is important here to find an activity that resonates with you and your sense of self. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be a bespoke program aimed at improving mental health. A general community-based activity like singing in a local choir or participating in a book club or arts class contains all the core ingredients that support improvements in mental health.
Fancourt, Daisy. Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Save Lives (p. 76). Celadon Books. Kindle Edition.
Benefits of the Arts (according to studies)
- Increase happiness and associated neurotransmitters
- Generate peak moments of joy and euphoria
- Build overall well-being and resilience
- Prevent and help manage depression and anxiety
- Support emotional understanding and regulation
- Broaden thinking and behavioral flexibility
- Strengthen sense of identity
- Support cognitive development
- Enhance learning capacity
- Build cognitive reserve
- Promote neuroplasticity
- Help entrain movement for exercise
- Downregulate psychobiological stress responses
- Reduce pain
- Lower need for certain medications
- Improve outcomes from surgeries and hospital treatments
- Offer perspective on life choices
- Improve capabilities, opportunities, and motivation for behavior change
- Strengthen social networks and connections
- Increase tolerance, empathy, and altruism
- Reduce harmful behaviors (toward self and others)
- Support heart and lung function
- Boost immune activity
- Influence gene expression
- Maintain physical functioning
- Slow biological aging
- Extend health span and lifespan
The Work of Daisy Fancourt
Did you know that visiting a museum can lower your cortisol levels? Or that singing can bond a group faster than almost any other activity? We tend to think of the arts as entertainment, but science tells a different story. Today, we explore why creativity is hardwired into our biology and how it can be used to treat everything from postnatal depression to stroke recovery.
Today’s guest is Professor Daisy Fancourt — one of the world’s leading researchers at the intersection of arts, health, and science. She is Director of the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Centre on Arts and Health, and Head of the Department of Behavioural Science and Health at University College London. She’s the author of the book Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Transform Our Health.
Her work has helped redefine how we think about the arts — not as optional enrichment, but as a vital component of human health, alongside exercise, nutrition, sleep, and social connection. Drawing on neuroscience, psychology, immunology, and large-scale population studies, Daisy has shown how engaging with music, visual art, dance, theatre, and literature can measurably improve our mental, physical, and social wellbeing across the lifespan. She has advised governments, the WHO, and health systems around the world, and her research is shaping how the arts are being integrated into healthcare and public policy. Today, we’re going to explore what the science really tells us, why the arts are so powerful for health, and what this means for how we live, heal, and design healthier societies."
- from Creative Process: Arts, Culture, Society Podcast interview with Professor Daisy Fancourt, interviewed by Mia Funk
Six Categories from Science
from which Fancourt Draws
Fancourt draws on over a decade of research, including thousands of studies from University College London (UCL):
- Mental Health Recovery: Arts engagement can reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety with effect sizes sometimes comparable to medication or therapy. One study showed monthly arts participation (museums, theater) nearly halved the risk of developing depression.
- Physiological Changes: The book moves beyond "feeling good" to document clinical biological changes, such as decreased serum cortisol (stress hormone), lower blood pressure, and improved immune function.
- Brain Plasticity: Fancourt highlights how music supports early brain development in children and how creative hobbies build resilience against dementia by strengthening synaptic connections.
- Longevity & Mortality: Large-scale epidemiological data shows regular attendance at cultural events correlates with a lower risk of loneliness, frailty, and premature death, even when controlling for wealth and lifestyle.
- Physical Rehabilitation: Case studies, such as "Josh" (regaining hand function via magic tricks) and "Russell" (using painting after a stroke), illustrate how arts-based interventions rebuild neural pathways.
Example: Art and Nature Combined:
Gardening and Nature-Based Arts
In Art Cure, Professor Daisy Fancourt treats gardening and nature-based arts as a unique "dual-action" dose because they combine physical activity with creative expression and sensory stimulation.The "Daily Dose" for GardeningFancourt frames gardening not just as a chore, but as a multi-sensory intervention that targets both the nervous system and cognitive resilience.
Scientific "Ingredients" of Gardening
Gardening as Art Cure
Anxiety Relief Mindful weeding or plantingSensory grounding & Serotonin
Mental Clarity Planning garden layoutsSoft Fascination (Attention Restoration)
Sense of Purpose Tending a "Living Artwork"Agency & Nurturing
- The Recommendation: Aim for 20–30 minutes of "active observation" or "creative tending" at least three times a week.
- Practical Tip: Don't just pull weeds; engage in the artistic side of gardening. This could mean botanical drawing of a specific leaf, planning a color-coordinated flower bed, or practicing "mindful pruning" where you focus entirely on the texture and scent of the plants.
- The "Homegrown National Park" Connection: Fancourt notes that transforming even a small balcony or a "patch of wild" into a personal sanctuary creates a sense of agency and environmental stewardship, which are powerful buffers against feelings of helplessness or "eco-anxiety."
Scientific "Ingredients" of Gardening
- Sensory Regulation (The "Biophilia" Effect): Interaction with soil and plants triggers the release of serotonin. Specific soil bacteria (Mycobacterium vaccae) have actually been shown to mirror the effects of antidepressants when inhaled or handled.
- Cognitive Restoration: Unlike the "high-intensity" focus required by screens, gardening uses "soft fascination." This allows the brain's "directed attention" filters to rest, which significantly reduces mental fatigue and improves problem-solving skills.
- Immune Priming: Fancourt cites research showing that regular "green" engagement lowers levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which are linked to chronic illnesses and depression.
Gardening as Art Cure
Anxiety Relief Mindful weeding or plantingSensory grounding & Serotonin
Mental Clarity Planning garden layoutsSoft Fascination (Attention Restoration)
Sense of Purpose Tending a "Living Artwork"Agency & Nurturing
Example: Singing and Singalongs in Nursing Homes
In her book Art Cure, Professor Daisy Fancourt highlights singing and singalongs as a primary example of how the arts act as a "biological intervention" for older adults. In nursing home settings, these activities move beyond simple entertainment to become clinical tools for managing health and behavior.
Clinical Benefits in Nursing Homes
Fancourt and other researchers emphasize that singalongs provide several measurable health outcomes:
The "Art Cure" Implementation Guide
To maximize these benefits, Fancourt and eldercare specialists recommend a structured approach:
Clinical Benefits in Nursing Homes
Fancourt and other researchers emphasize that singalongs provide several measurable health outcomes:
- Agitation & Stress Reduction: Group singing significantly lowers serum cortisol (the stress hormone) and reduces symptoms of anxiety and agitation in residents with dementia.
- Lower Medication Use: Regular singalongs have been linked to a decreased need for psychotropic medications, such as sedatives or anti-anxiety drugs, because the activity naturally regulates mood and behavior.
- Memory & Language Recall: Music-processing areas of the brain are often spared in Alzheimer’s. Residents who struggle with daily speech may still be able to recall and sing every lyric to a song from their youth, stimulating neural pathways and boosting self-esteem.
- Physical Safety: Some studies show a "preventative effect" against accidents; after singalongs, residents are often calmer and sleep better, which can lead to fewer falls and injuries at night.
The "Art Cure" Implementation Guide
To maximize these benefits, Fancourt and eldercare specialists recommend a structured approach:
- Personalized Playlists: Focus on music from the residents' youth (typically ages 14–24) to maximize memory recall and emotional connection.
- Multisensory Engagement: Encourage clapping, toe-tapping, or using simple percussion like shakers. This "rhythmic engagement" improves coordination and motor skills.
- Visual Aids: Use large-print lyric sheets or "karaoke-style" displays to help those with cognitive decline stay oriented during the session.
- Staff Participation: The benefits extend to caregivers. When staff sing with residents, it improves the psychosocial working climate, reduces caregiver burnout, and strengthens the bond between staff and patients.
Take Home Ideas
- There are five pillars of health: exercise, nature, sleep, diet, and the arts. All matter, but the arts are often overlooked.
- You do not have to be an “artist” to engage the arts. The arts include gardening, cooking, singing, drawing, flower arranging, crocheting, making things by hand, and reading, as well as music, visual arts, and the creative and performing arts.
- Research shows that engaging in the arts can reduce stress, support mental and physical health, build cognitive reserve, decrease depression, reduce dependence on medication, grow in emotional well-being, and give a sense of purpose.
- To benefit, it helps to take up a creative hobby and practice it in small, daily doses, including “microdoses” that last only a minute as well as longer periods of time.