Often Singing or Going to the Museum Turns Out to Help the Body Stay Young

A visitor looks at a work of art at the museum. Recent studies say that art and cultural activities, including visiting galleries or museums, are associated with a slower biological aging rate. (Photo: Pexels - Euronews)

JAKARTA - The routine of singing, coming to the gallery, joining a choir, or learning to make ceramics turns out to have an impact on the biological level. A study by University College London (UCL) found that art and cultural activities are related to a slower rate of body aging.

Citing a report from Euronews, Wednesday, May 13, the study published in the journal Innovation in Aging analyzed survey data and blood tests from 3,556 adults in the UK.

Researchers compared participants' engagement in arts and cultural activities with chemical changes in DNA associated with biological aging.

The results, people who follow art activities at least once a week appear to age about 4 percent slower than those who rarely do it.

Researchers say the effect is similar to the difference between people who exercise regularly and those who don't.

The study's senior author, Feifei Bu, said the research was early evidence that engagement in arts and culture is associated with slowing biological aging.

"Art activities have been shown to reduce stress, lower inflammation, and improve cardiovascular disease risk, just like exercise," Bu said, quoted by Euronews.

The strongest findings were seen in the age group of 40 years and above. The results remained after the researchers took into account other factors such as body mass index, smoking habits, education, and income.

The lead author of the study, Daisy Fancourt, said art and culture deserved to be seen as part of a healthy lifestyle.

In this study, researchers used seven types of "epigenetic clocks", which are tools that read chemical patterns in DNA to estimate how quickly the body ages.

On the DunedinPACE measure, people who took part in art activities at least three times a year looked 2 percent older. If it is done every month, the slowdown reaches 3 percent. While weekly activity is associated with a slowdown of up to 4 percent.

In another test called PhenoAge, participants who regularly attended art and cultural activities every week looked an average of one year younger biologically than those who rarely attended.

Even so, researchers emphasize that these results do not mean that exercise can be abandoned. Physical activity remains one of the healthiest habits of life that is most strongly supported by scientific evidence.

However, this study shows that art and cultural activities can also have a positive impact on the health of the body and the aging process.