Study: Men Who Dig Art and Culture are Happier, Healthier and Calmer

By David DiSalvo

What I like about Norwegian researchers is that they are always trying to figure out what makes us more satisfied with life. You might say it’s their ”thing.” In the latest happy, happy volley from Norway, researchers have determined that guys who dose on culture are better off in mind and body than their uncultured counterparts.

The study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, kept tabs on roughly 50,000 men and women to assess life satisfaction, perceived state of health, anxiety and depression.

Overall, both men and women who participated in cultural activities—including playing an instrument, painting, going to the theater and visiting museums—had lower levels of anxiety and depression, reported more life satisfaction, and generally “felt better” than those not participating in cultural activities.

But the biggest beneficiaries were men. And here’s the strange part: men more interested in watching and looking at culture—in museums and art galleries, for example – enjoyed the greatest benefits of all; even more than men actively participating in cultural and creative activities.

As odd as that may sound, it’s actually a well-evidenced result. Several studies from the early 1990’s onward have shown that exposure to art strongly correlates with lower anxiety and depression. A study published just last year in the Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing showed that hospitalized psychiatric patients required less anxiety medication when they were regularly exposed to art (the result was tracked through nurses who administer the meds — right from the source, so to speak).

These and other convincing results make a case that art has a quite tangible health value, even apart from the qualities we admire and value for more obvious reasons. The second study I mentioned above took the added step of quantifying how much money could be saved on meds and nurses’ time using the art-exposure method, and came up with an estimated savings of $30K a year per patient.

Worth noting, the Norwegian study also showed that the bigger the cultural dose, the more benefits one receives — suggesting that when you next visit a theater, museum or art gallery, you’d be wise to breathe deep and dose big.

via forbes