3 Reasons Art is Good for You

Art, in its many forms, provides benefits far beyond that of enjoyment. Whether or not you feel you’re talented in the arts, I suggest you jump in anyway, for more reasons than you might know. Here are three ways producing art is healthy.

1. Reduces Stress

Pick up a paintbrush, learn to play an instrument, or just spend some time doodling. Before you know it, your stress levels will be going down. Most likely you’ve seen the adult coloring books that have increased in popularity over the last several years. There’s a reason for that! If you were thinking it was just a fad, think again. A study conducted at Drexel University shows that engaging in a creative activity for 45 minutes caused cortisol levels (stress hormones) to reduce significantly. 

 2. Lets Us Process Grief 

Making art involves concentration, mental focus, and motor skills. Researchers have determined that by diverting attention away from, for example, a traumatic event and engaging in an artistic activity that is completely unrelated, your state of mind will improve. Think about it, you’re taking your focus off the source of worry and turning it toward something else, providing a mental and emotional break. This immersion in a creative activity has proven to be more effective than unstructured talking about what’s bothering you. However, if you pair professional therapy appointments (professionally-guided talk therapy) with art-making, that’s a winning combination.  

3. Helps Us Focus 

Multi-tasking gets a lot of hype, but it’s not as great as we once thought. In fact, it increases the likelihood of short attention spans and distraction. A study conducted at the Dana Foundation revealed that children who participated in an artistic activity for at least five minutes a day for an entire month had longer attention spans. 

Immersing oneself in art requires concentration and mindfulness. For example, playing the piano requires being attentive to the placement of fingers, playing the correct notes, reading music, counting time, and devoting time to practice. The act of drawing your attention toward something like music can bring your brain more into focus. Plus, simply put, it brings joy to create something beautiful.

There are many more benefits to being creative, but the article boasted “three reasons” and I’d really like to stick with… Oh! What the heck, here are more: it enhances learning and memory skills and even boosts self-esteem. When you find your creative outlet, you might uncover an increased ability to find solutions to problems, too. Bottom line, making art helps train the brain; and its creative aspects help us learn to think outside of the box, get out of our comfort zones, and live a healthier, happier life. So, regardless of whether you feel “talented enough,” just make something!