Your Body on Art

Source: DALL-E

When you consider art, it might initially appear as a luxury rather than a necessity for those earnestly engaged in life. However, delving deeper into the influence of art on our lives uncovers a multitude of unexpected advantages.

According to evolutionary biologist E.O. Wilson, art is linked to our survival as a species. Evidence of this can be seen in how art activates our brain's reward, pleasure, and fear circuitry. ¹ We are hard-wired to respond and react to art. Beyond the entertaining impacts of art therapy, art can be designed to impact your mental and physical health deeply.²

For example, abstract art helps our minds break free from reality, allowing us to explore inner thoughts and feelings more freely and sometimes even relaxing our bodies. As such, art is therapy for our entire body, promoting well-being and helping us live healthier lives."³

Viewing art and mental health

Many studies have demonstrated stress reduction after viewing artworks.^4,5 Improvements in depression, anxiety, and dementia have also been reported.⁶ In post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), art can also be helpful, as trauma memories are often wordless and may be assuaged by non-word media like art.⁷ In fact, some authors have suggested that we enjoy art when we identify with it. This means that appreciating art involves not just thinking about it or finding it beautiful but also feeling connected to it on a deeper, even unconscious, level.⁸

As English author Jeanette Winterson has pointed out, art disconnects us from the mechanical when it enlivens or even enrages us. It may appear useless, but it is not because it has transforming power.⁹ In fact, art can act as a social glue, helping people identify with objects of admiration and one another.¹⁰

Viewing art and physical health

Studies have shown that figurative art can lower blood pressure¹¹ and that digital artworks can have similar stress-reducing effects as physical artworks.¹² In fact, art can be powerful and—in its digitized form—an accessible resource that is a cost-effective tool to promote health in everyday life.¹³

When art acts as a social glue, it can potentially transform physical health. Loneliness is associated with abnormalities in the immune system and abnormalities in metabolism,¹⁴ so when art alleviates loneliness, it also impacts the body physically.

Several studies have also indicated that viewing art may also help to relieve chronic pain. For example, one study found that beautiful paintings decreased pain perception, distracting people from that pain.¹⁵ It is understandable that if art reduces pain, individuals like Frida Kahlo, the Mexican painter who endured chronic pain from a spinal cord injury and polio, would find solace and motivation in their creative pursuits. Despite her physical suffering, Kahlo persisted in her art, even painting from her bed when her pain made it necessary.¹⁶

Art can curiously also impact healthy longevity. If high levels of stress, blood pressure or anxiety increase the risk of ageing-related diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, or dementia,¹⁷ art has the potential to protect against this. In a recent paper that I published with my colleagues in Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Digital Health,¹⁸ I explained why even digital art can provide a context for non-ordinary consciousness that has been shown to protect genes associated with inflammation, immunity, and fatigue.¹⁹

How can art have such a broad impact?

Susan Magsamen, a neuroaesthetics expert, pointed out that the impact of art on the brain is not simply related to targeting “this” or “that” brain circuit. Art’s impact on the brain often results in heightened states of connectivity in which the eventual impact is greater than the sum of the parts.¹

This complexity extends beyond the confines of the brain through its intricate connections with other vital systems in the body, including the gut,²⁰ adrenal gland,²¹ heart,²² and virtually every part of the body. Engaging with art doesn't simply stimulate one receptor or organ; it addresses the holistic interplay of mental and physical health, targeting the entirety of this interconnected complexity.

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The connection between the body and art becomes even more pronounced when one fully engages with art through virtual reality experiences or simply by becoming deeply absorbed in a two-dimensional artwork on a screen. In this way, known as "embodied aesthetics," art has the power to affect one's physical being when one goes beyond mere observation and internalizes its essence.

So what?

Understand that art can affect both your mind and body. Incorporate art into your routine by visiting museums, exploring digital art platforms, and nurturing a genuine personal taste that resonates with you, not out of obligation, but because you authentically connect with it.