The Benefits of Art: Why Creativity Is Good for Your Mind, Body & Community

What if picking up a paintbrush wasn't simply a fun hobby—but one small way of investing in your health?

We often talk about the things we should be doing for our health: getting enough sleep, exercising, eating well, spending time outside and maintaining meaningful relationships.

But there's another piece of the puzzle that doesn't always get the attention it deserves:

Art.

Creating, experiencing, and participating in the arts can contribute to our mental, physical, emotional, and social well-being. In her 2026 book Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Transform Our Health, professor and researcher Daisy Fancourt makes the case that the arts deserve to be considered alongside other important health-promoting behaviors—not as a replacement for medical care, but as part of a healthy life. (Macmillan Publishers)

And the research behind that idea is surprisingly extensive.

1. Art Can Support Mental Health

One of the most compelling areas of research is the relationship between arts engagement and mental health.

The World Health Organization's 2019 review examined more than 3,000 studies investigating the relationship between the arts and health. The review found evidence that arts engagement can play a role in health promotion, prevention of illness, and management of certain health conditions across the lifespan. (World Health Organization)

Fancourt's work examines how different types of arts engagement can affect things such as stress, anxiety, depression, emotional regulation, and overall well-being. (Macmillan Publishers)

That doesn't mean painting is a substitute for therapy or medical treatment.

It does mean that incorporating creative experiences into our lives may be one of many ways we can support our mental well-being.

2. Creating Can Help Us Express Emotions

Sometimes we don't have the words.

Art gives us another language.

The WHO review identifies emotional expression and emotion regulation as some of the pathways through which arts activities may influence health. (Iris)

Think about what happens when you're drawing, painting, sculpting, dancing, writing, or making music.

You're making choices.

You're observing.

You're experimenting.

You're responding to what you're feeling.

And sometimes you're communicating something that would be difficult to explain in a conversation.

This is one reason creative activities can be particularly meaningful during periods of stress or difficult life experiences.

You don't always have to explain the feeling before you create it.

2. Creating Can Help Us Express Emotions

Sometimes we don't have the words.

Art gives us another language.

The WHO review identifies emotional expression and emotion regulation as some of the pathways through which arts activities may influence health. (Iris)

Think about what happens when you're drawing, painting, sculpting, dancing, writing, or making music.

You're making choices.

You're observing.

You're experimenting.

You're responding to what you're feeling.

And sometimes you're communicating something that would be difficult to explain in a conversation.

This is one reason creative activities can be particularly meaningful during periods of stress or difficult life experiences.

You don't always have to explain the feeling before you create it.

3. Art Can Help Us Slow Down

Modern life doesn't exactly encourage us to sit quietly and focus on one thing.

We're surrounded by notifications, deadlines, responsibilities, and an endless stream of information.

Creative activities can provide an opportunity to become absorbed in something happening right here, right now.

Fancourt describes both short-term and longer-term effects of arts engagement. In an interview discussing Art Cure, she explained that even brief arts experiences can produce changes in mood, while repeated engagement can build benefits over time. She cites research in which approximately one hour of arts engagement per week was associated with improvements across a range of mental and physical health outcomes over several weeks. (Healthline)

That doesn't mean there's a magical one-hour prescription that works for everyone.

Rather, it reinforces an important idea:

Consistency matters.

You don't need to become a professional artist. You simply need to make room for creativity in your life.

 4. Art Can Help Combat Loneliness

This one is particularly important.

Art doesn't have to be something we do alone.

A community art class can become a place where people talk, laugh, learn something new, share ideas, and make connections.

The WHO review found evidence connecting arts participation with social interaction, social cohesion, and reduced loneliness. (Iris)

And that matters because our health isn't just about what's happening inside our bodies.

We're social creatures.

Sometimes the benefit of an art class isn't the painting you take home.

It's the person you meet while you're making it.

5. Art Challenges the Brain

Creating art involves much more than putting pretty things on paper.

Depending on the activity, you're observing, remembering, planning, making decisions, solving problems, coordinating movement, evaluating your work, and adapting when something doesn't go according to plan.

The WHO review identifies cognitive stimulation and learning as important pathways through which arts engagement may contribute to health. (Iris)

Fancourt's research also examines relationships between arts engagement and brain health, cognitive functioning, and healthy aging. Her work includes research suggesting that arts participation can contribute to cognitive resilience across the lifespan. (Macmillan Publishers)

So when your drawing doesn't look quite right and you erase it for the seventeenth time?

Congratulations.

Your brain is still working. 

 6. Art Connects Us to Other People and Cultures

Art isn't only about individual expression.

It's one of the ways humans communicate across generations and cultures.

The WHO describes the arts as uniquely suited to helping people understand and communicate ideas and emotions, including across cultural and social divides. (World Health Organization)

When we explore another culture's art, music, storytelling, dance, or traditions, we have an opportunity to encounter perspectives different from our own.

That can encourage curiosity, empathy, communication, and connection.

Art can give us a reason to ask, "Tell me more."

And that's a pretty powerful thing.

7. Art Can Support Physical Health, Too

This may be the part that surprises people most.

The evidence isn't limited to mental health.

Art Cure explores research connecting arts engagement with a wide range of physical health outcomes, including stress physiology, movement, pain, immune function, recovery, and healthy aging. (Macmillan Publishers)

Different arts activities affect the body in different ways.

Dance involves physical movement.

Singing involves breathing.

Playing an instrument involves coordination.

Creating visual art can involve fine motor skills and sustained attention.

And experiencing art can involve emotional, cognitive, and physiological responses.

There isn't one "art benefit."

There are many—and they depend on what you're doing, how you're doing it, and who you are.

8. You Don't Have to Be "Good at Art"

This might actually be my favorite part.

You don't need to be an artist to benefit from participating in the arts.

You don't need a degree.

You don't need expensive supplies.

You don't need an Instagram-worthy painting.

And you certainly don't need to compare your artwork to someone else's.

The health research looks at engagement with the arts, not simply producing technically impressive masterpieces. The WHO's evidence base includes everything from visual arts and crafts to music, dance, theater, literature, and other creative and cultural activities. (World Health Organization)

So please stop waiting until you're "good enough."

You're allowed to make terrible art.

Actually, I highly recommend it.

It's liberating.

We don't have to pretend art is a miracle cure.

We can simply recognize that creative engagement appears to be one meaningful part of a healthy, connected life.

So...Why Take an Art Class?

Maybe you want to learn how to paint.

Maybe you want to finally figure out what you're supposed to do with that sketchbook you've owned for three years.

Maybe you want to meet people.

Maybe you need an excuse to get out of the house.

Maybe you want to try something you've always been too intimidated to try.

Or maybe you simply want two hours where nobody is asking you to answer an email.

All excellent reasons.

The research suggests there may be benefits beyond the artwork itself.

And that's one of the reasons I believe so strongly in making art accessible to everyone.

Art isn't reserved for "artistic people."

Art is something we can participate in.

It's a way to learn.

To play.

To communicate.

To connect.

To challenge ourselves.

To experience beauty.

And sometimes...

to remember that we're human beings—not productivity machines.

*If you're interested in taking an art class with me, click here!*

 Sources & Further Reading

Fancourt, Daisy. Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Transform Our Health. Celadon Books, 2026. The book synthesizes research on arts engagement, mental health, brain health, movement, stress and pain, healthy behaviors, and longevity. (Macmillan Publishers)

World Health Organization. What is the evidence on the role of the arts in improving health and well-being? A scoping review. WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2019. The review examined more than 3,000 studies. (World Health Organization)

University College London — Art Cure. UCL's overview of Fancourt's research and the scientific basis of the book. (University College London)