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How being Creative benefits your Health. A 5 percenter.

  • Not So Ordinary
  • Mar 2, 2020
  • 5 min read

Updated: Feb 20

Science shows that creating art has many benefits on both the brain and body. It is calming, restorative, and helps connect us to others.

This post is one in a series of how a few small 5% differences can lead to better health.

 

Creating is Good Medicine

Creative acts are more and more recognized as a valuable tool in managing overall health. The act of creating affects the brain and body in numerous beneficial ways.  The World Health Organization (WHO) took results from over 3000 studies and found that there was “a major role for the arts in the prevention of ill health, promotion of health, and management and treatment of illness across the lifespan.”

 

Art on the Brain

Making art engages multiple brain systems at once and can influence stress hormones, immune function, and emotional regulation. Scientific literature supports that creative activities can:

  • Reduce cortisol and stress responses

  • Improve emotional regulation

  • Support immune function

  • Enhance neuroplasticity

  • Decrease pain perception

  • Improve quality of life

  • Strengthen social connection

 

Creating lowers stress levels by reducing cortisol levels. 

This in turn reduces inflammation and improves the immune system. (Journal of Art Therapy)  This has numerous benefits including improved sleep, reduced anxiety, depression and chances of cardiovascular disease.  It has been found that hospitals with art have been linked to faster recovery and lower patient anxiety.


This study showed that just 45 minutes of making art significantly reduced cortisol levels. Participants reported that, “they found the art-making session to be relaxing, enjoyable, helpful for learning about new aspects of self, freeing from constraints, an evolving process of initial struggle to later resolution, and about flow/losing themselves in the work.”


One way of activating these health benefits is by entering the Flow State which comes with its own health benefits. “During flow state, individuals often feel a heightened sense of focus, concentration, and enjoyment. Time seems to pass quickly, and individuals often report a sense of effortlessness and a loss of self-consciousness.” (Flow Research Collective) Many changes take place in your brain during this state. To learn more about these changes click on the link.  

 

Creating improves emotional regulation. 

Neuropsychological studies show that expressive activities help integrate emotional experiences between the right and left hemispheres of the brain, improving emotional clarity and regulation. Art therapy has been used to help treat and manage depression, anxiety disorders, addictions, trauma and more. This study here has shown that creating art improved psychological resiliency in adults and can be a preventative tool in managing chronic disease in older adults.

 

Making and viewing art has been shown to change our brains. 

New neural pathways are created and strengthened when expressing ourselves in new ways. Dance has been found to provide improvements in patients with Parkinson’s disease and music supports cognition in people with dementia.  Studies showed that, “creating visual art involves intricate coordination between the visual cortex, motor cortex, and prefrontal cortex. This multi-faceted engagement promotes synaptic plasticity, facilitating the formation of new neural connections and enhancing overall cognitive function.” (Informativa) Art helps our brains grow.

 

Art as pain management. 

Some small studies have shown that art can be a tool in pain management. This study, “showed significant decreases in selfreported pain after each session with significant decreases in pain interference, depression, stress, and anxiety after the art therapy intervention. Results also indicated significant increases in self-efficacy following the intervention.” Many studies findings have supported that art therapy makes a good addition to pain management practices. It is in the flow state where most of the benefit is experienced.

 

Improves quality of life,

Not just creating art but viewing art can have measurable affects on our quality of life. This study,  “found that viewing art can improve eudemonic wellbeing, this is wellbeing associated with meaning in life and personal growth.” The effects were seen across multiple environments. Art therapy can be used in end-of-life care and with the bereaved. It can provide support to care givers and health care staff.  Art has proven to increase individual and social well-being as some studies, “identified benefits for vitality, rejuvenation, resilience, purpose and quality of life” (WHO).


...and social connection.

As for the social connections “…the arts have been found to foster prosocial behaviour, a shared sense of success, physical coordination, shared attention, shared motivation and group identity.” (WHO). Art brings people together and helps create connections, opportunities to socialize and learn from people we would other wise not meet. It helps us experience new perspectives and the ability to share ours.

 

Creating art engages the brain, calms the stress response, and supports emotional processing. Through its effects on hormones, neural pathways, and immune function, art contributes to improved overall health and resilience. Incorporating creativity into daily life — even in small amounts — can be considered a low-risk, high-benefit health intervention that leads to higher health outcomes in the future. It is accessible and can be easily adjusted to meet ones needs without any negative side effects.


It doesn’t take much, some play doh, paint, block of wood, art journal or ukulele, there are so many different ways to build a creative outlet. You could start small from bed and begin with a colouring book and markers or make a small bedside art kit as I describe in this post. Art journaling has many proven benefits and is an versatile medium. See this blog for a future post on art journaling.


For a community connection you could join Art Therapy offered by Yukon Mental Wellness and Substance Use Services every Friday 9:30 -12. It is free for anyone to join and is hosted by a qualified art therapist. If you are in Crestview you can check out the community Facebook page and see when the next Watercolour Wednesday is being hosted. Keep your eyes and ears peeled, there are always art events taking place in town. For the house bound there's the online world, art videos are infinite on YouTube. You can also search art therapy and discover a channel that you find helpful.


Art is not just a fun past time.

It is participation in healing.

 

 

 

 

Further Reading:

 


Viewing art has been found to have health benefits as well. Museums Association, Art Fund research proves that viewing art is good for the human body.





 

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