How Art Can Help Both Your Body And Mind
The relationship between the body and brain in terms of art really makes going to the local museum absolutely worthwhile. Art is something that has definitely helped to shape the society that we live in today, as we have constructed all sorts of galleries that house some of the finest pieces created by the best talent in the entire world; however, is science able to actually measure the overall effect that art has on us?
The simple answer to that question is yes.
First and foremost, art is great at reducing our overall stress levels. A recent Westminster study showed that those who took part in it, which included a lunchtime visit to a local art gallery, experienced a reduction in their stress levels after visiting the gallery, and even spent an extra 35 minutes checking out the space in any way that they were able to.
The biggest catch, however, was that they only experienced a decrease in cortisol, or the main hormone that causes stress, if someone who already had high levels of the hormone already went into the gallery.
It's also been proven that the brain is essentially hardwired to process various forms of art. What that means is that portions of the brain that are associated with factors such as contemplation automatically become sparked whenever someone begins to view works of art. This is also the case even if they aren't spending any time thinking about art in a critical sense. The expectation is that the brain will recognize faces and process scenes more whenever someone looks at art. On the other hand, portions of the brain that are linked to different emotions will also show activity as well.
Perhaps the biggest benefits, however, come from actually producing art in some form, regardless of what it is. In this same study, there were two groups of retirees. One group was provided with lessons from an art educator and were tasked with creating pieces that essentially displayed their own personal artistic expression. The other group, meanwhile, was more of a discussion class, in which talks were held in regards to specific sculptures and paintings. Before and after each process, each group had their brains scanned, and out of each group, the one that created art was found to have had the best neural benefit as opposed to the other group.
Art can often easily be taken for granted a lot of times; however, it can also lead to all of us becoming much healthier and obtaining an increased amount of brain activity.
