Resveralife on Live Well: Art and Your Health

Although it might not be news to you that art can have a major impact on your mood, it might certainly be news to you that art can have a major impact on your health as well. Recent research has actually shown that picking and hanging the right artwork in a room can help to improve the mood  and the overall health of its occupant. It is obvious that any form of art can contribute to the psychological well-being of an individual. It might not be the greatest source of happiness for everyone and everyone might not be highly skilled in it, but it is more than likely to give all sorts of people a lot of happiness. This post tries to shows you how art and your health might be connected.

In the recent years, there have been a number of studies that have been conducted to determine the impact that art has to play on the overall well-being and health of a person. It has been shown that art can actually supplement proper care and medicine in helping out people with physical or mental health issues. Research has gone on to show that engaging the person in art can actually prevent the disease from developing and create a sense of well-being.

The proof of the existence of a positive relationship between art and your health was discovered in a study conducted by the Health Working Group in the year 2007. This study found out that there was substantial evidence that art helped in creating an environment that promoted and developed good health. This study was backed by a paper published by the British Medical Association in the year 2011. This paper measured the improvements caused by arts and humanities programs on hospital inpatients and found out that such programs helped to shorten the duration of the hospital stay, reduce the consumption of drugs, improve mental balance, bring about positive psychological changes and promote better doctor-patient relationships.

According to Dr. Daniel Levitin from the McGill University, music can actually activate certain areas of your brain the same way that chocolates, orgasms or opium manage to. Dr. Levitin also states that music might also be the last thing that fades away from the memories of people suffering from diseases like the Alzheimer’s Disease. Furthermore, recent studies discovered that singing releases a set of substances that play the role of painkillers for your brain. The vast impact that music had to offer to the overall well-being of a person led to the development of things like music therapy as well.

Another art that is believed to be highly beneficial in terms of easing the pain and the stress caused is art therapy. Megan Robb, a certified art therapist, believes that traumatic memories are usually stored in the brain in the form of images. This makes art therapy an ideal way to access these memories and heal the patients. Once these images are drawn, words can be formed in order to describe them. Resveralife came across a few studies supported by the NIH that have also shown that art can help in improving the quality of life of an individual, reduce the fatigue suffered by cancer patients and also help out with issues like depression.

Other forms of art that have also shown to help you live well include writing and dancing.