Creating Art is Good for the Older Brain

Myself, my students and many others know that creating art is good for us. This is backed up by science. In fact there are a heap of studies that show art activities are beneficial for all ages, even for older people.
 
Some countries (Australia, Wales and the UK) have “Arts on Prescription” programmes to actively encourage older people to join in on various art activities for their own well being benefit.
 
A recent study in Germany looked at the direct effects of creating art (drawing and painting) on brain activity in older people (aged 62 to 70).
 
Over ten weeks for 2 hours a week, half of the group spent time viewing art in a museum and discussing it (‘study art’ group) and the other half created drawings and paintings (‘create art’ group).
 
Functional MRI (fMRI) was used to detect changes in blood flow in specific parts of the brain of participants at the end compared with the start of the study. Blood flow in the brain is an indicator of brain activity.
 
They found that the ‘create art’ group had increased connectivity in parts of the brain associated with memory, introspection and other cognitive processes, whereas the ‘study art’ group did not.
 
The ‘create art’ group also appeared to be better able to cope with life, as indicated by higher resilience scores.
 
These results are exciting not just because the create art group appeared to be more resilient but because it appears that creating art may delay or possibly even negate age-related decline of some brain functions. And with our average lifespan increasing with each generation, who wouldn’t want to maintain healthy brain function for as long as we possibly can?
 
So if you are concerned about maintaining your brain health as you get older, you may want to seriously consider learning to create art!
 
The good news is that it’s easy!
 
Inspired but don’t know where to start? How about trying out my freebie… You’ll learn a nice, simple drawing exercise as well as some other tips and tricks to get you underway.
 
To a life UPLIFTED by Art

Author

Joanne Deaker helps heart-centred adults learn the skills of creating art to give them timeout, a means to relax, let go, express themselves and see joy in life. She also creates art to enhance and uplift the mood of living spaces so occupants can feel happier everyday.

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Drawing
Well Being

Reference:
​Bolwerk A, Mack-Andrick J, Lang FR, Dörfler A and Maihöfner C (2014) How Art Changes Your Brain: Differential Effects of Visual Art Production and Cognitive Art Evaluation on Functional Brain Connectivity. PLOS https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.010103