Does art appreciation prolong life?

Forums:

Or is art an "evolutionary parasite"?  The debate rages on, but it looks good for art lovers........

 

Want to live longer? Art museums may be the key, study suggests

The study reviewed the association between varying levels of engagement in the arts as well as mortality rates in participants in the cohort. Researchers followed up with participants over a 14-year period.

“While previous studies have shown the association between arts engagement and the prevention and treatment of mental and physical health conditions, including depression, dementia, chronic pain, and frailty, whether arts engagement actually confers survival benefits remains unclear,” the study read. “Some research has proposed that the universality of art and the strong emotional responses it induces are indications of its association with evolutionary adaptations, while other research has questioned whether art is an evolutionary parasite, with no particular evolutionary benefits to our species.”

Researchers found that adults 50 or older who engaged with arts frequently, or every few months or more — whether by going to the theater, museums, attending concerts, the opera or visiting art galleries and exhibitions — had a 31% lower risk of dying in the follow-up period. 

And if participants engaged with cultural activities infrequently, or once or twice a year, they had a 14% lower risk of dying during the 14-year follow-up period compared to peers who did not engage in the arts. 

https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/health/want-live-longer-art-museums-may-t...

No, yogurt does

Are you sure that yogurt is not an evolutionary parasite?

Well, it is full of bugs.

ART SAVES LIVES! (A sign I saw long ago in a rubberstamp shop in Amsterdam.)

Creating it, looking at it, thinking about it, this is real.

MUSIC LETS You LIVE LOnGER and have a BETTER life

 

As does art 

thom loves / is a Parasite?    
stop reading sweater boy

Nope, It's bitching, all old people bitch, try to find one that doesn't, you can't, they're all dead.

the ones that like art, they bitch about it,

 

"well it's no Warhol, that's for sure"

 

"it was a soup can"

 

"exactly!"

 

 

Eugenians, check out the Steadman exhibit at the Jordan Schnitzer.  It goes until January 19th....

 Thanks for the reminder, KeseyB.

I hope all is well with you.

I appreciate Art.  Hope he's still playing and writing.

https://archive.org/details/artmatthies2008-09-20.Matrix

 

Nonsense. Longevity is connected to wealth, not choice of entertainment venue, which is what this is about. This isn't about aesthetic appreciation for art, it's about customers who spend money on entertainment. Longevity has nothing to do with specifically where people go for entertainment, or how they spend their money. Silly! Wealthy people tend to live longer than poor people because they have more resources to get better food and health care, not because they "participate in the arts".  More wealthy people visit art galleries, museums, theaters, opera & concert halls than poor people because they have more money and leisure time. Same is true for people who visit sporting events, or go to the movies. More wealthy people have the money, and leisure time to attend sports and movies, than poor people, and they live longer too. Attending art galleries and museums won't help anybody live longer any more than attending baseball games or movies. It's a bogus assumption.

Support your local art museum! 

Taking an art history course is a great way to learn world history in a visual way -- great for visual learners. 

 Wish I would have majored in art history - so enriching to one's world view.