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Connections Between The Arts, Your Brain, and Your Health

Did you know that art is good for you? It truly is! Art is one of the most overlooked fields

of study and human activities. It is often regarded as unnecessary and is discarded. When it

comes to budget cuts, schools tend to get rid of art courses. Many say that “art is not for

everyone”, but others would say that it could help anyone. Chris Miller is a 65-year-old retired

teacher and artist. He sustained a brain injury as a result of having a brain tumor removed in

2012. “Art has helped me tell my story, and to feel positive about myself,” he says. “It has

provided a way to talk to my friends about what happened to me. It’s also the perfect excuse to

practice using my right hand again. My pictures are part of my history. It’s created a focus for my

life” (Guardian 1). Like Miller, there are many other people who also say that art has helped

them cope and express themselves. Examples like these and further research show that art is

beneficial to your brain and health. Art is good for your brain and health because it relieves

stress and the effects of illness, helps build and enhance necessary skills like problem-

solving and creative thinking, and increases brain plasticity.

One of the reasons why art is beneficial to your mental and physical health is that it

reduces stress and the effects of illness. It has been shown that activities related to art can lower

stress levels in people. For example, “Activities like painting, sculpting, drawing, and

photography are relaxing and rewarding hobbies that can lower stress levels and leave you

feeling mentally clear and calm” (Alban 1). The feelings caused by creating and viewing awe-

inspiring art can leave a positive effect on the body and mental state (Phillips 1). It creates a

distraction from what people usually think about. Adult coloring books are an example; many
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people use them to unwind. These coloring books have become a popular source of stress relief.

They have also helped veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) transition

into art therapy as a source of help (Alban 1). Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy that

encourages people to express themselves through artistic activities. This involves painting,

drawing, sculpting, performing, music, and many other things. It has been shown that art therapy

can help reduce the effects of illnesses. A report on the connections between art and health states

that music therapy can “calm neural activity in the brain, which may lead to reductions in

anxiety, and that it may help to restore effective functioning in the immune system partly via the

actions of the amygdala and hypothalamus” (Stuckley 1). Art also promotes healing in patients

with mental illnesses such as depression. By expressing their feelings on paper or a canvas,

people begin to feel positive emotions and learn different, harmless ways to express themselves.

This leads to the improvement of the quality of their lives. Research done with patients has

proven that art “improved well-being by decreasing negative emotions and increasing positive

ones”, “filled occupational voids, distracted thoughts of illness”, and “improved medical

outcomes, trends toward reduced depression” (Clear 1). Art can impact anyone, and how they

develop and feel.

A second reason why art is beneficial to a person’s brain health is that it can encourage

and enhance necessary skills people need everyday, like problem-solving and creativity. It

promotes creative-thinking and problem-solving because there is no definite answer in art.

Making art allows a person to think outside-of-the-box and create their own solutions. “Out-of-

the-box thinking also stimulates your brain to grow new neurons” (Alban 1). The growth of new

neurons has been linked to the brain’s capability to perform tasks. The use of art activities can
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also build fine motor skills in people, especially children. Teaching a child how to hold a pencil

and create something

they want will help them write and complete other tasks in the future (Griner 1). Making art

involves the use of activities that require dexterity and hand coordination, which help build the

parts of the brain that deal with this, too. A study in London showed how artists have more grey

matter in the parts of the brain controlling fine motor skills, spatial navigation, and visual

perception. The study is based on the brain scans and drawing performances of 21 artists and 23

non-artists. The results concluded that the artists “have more developed structures in regions of

the brain that control fine motor performance” (Brooks 2014). Not only does art help build fine

motor skills, it even helps children learn creativity, confidence, problem-solving, perseverance,

focus, nonverbal communication, how to receive constructive feedback, collaboration,

dedication, and accountability. This is backed up by research that found that “participation in the

arts improves children’s abilities to concentrate and focus in other aspects of their lives” (Phillips

2012). These findings also concur with the fact that art can also increase feelings of love and

empathy. Feelings like these impact our mood and how people interact with others. A

neurobiologist from London named Semir Zeki discovered from his research that viewing art can

give the same pleasure as falling in love. While studying the brain scans of volunteers, Zeki

found that “viewing art triggers a surge of the feel-good chemical dopamine, into the orbital-

frontal cortex of the brain, resulting in feelings of intense pleasure” and that the reaction “was

immediate” (Smithstein 1). As it increases our feelings of love and pleasure, it can increase our

empathy, too. A study done on over 10,000 children found that after visiting an art museum, they

began to think and feel differently. The children began to show empathy towards the people of

the past and “tolerance for people different than themselves” (Alban 1). By helping us feel
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positive emotions, our lives and health are improved.

A third reason that explains why art is good for your brain health is that it encourages the

brain to form new neural connections, which helps maintain the brain’s plasticity. Every time a

person learns and engages in a new activity, the brain creates new connections between the

neurons located in it (Alban 1). Art is all about thinking of and creating new things, so when a

person comes up with something new, neurons connect with each other. Cognitive research from

Germany suggests that “the production of visual art improves effective interaction in the brain”

(Brooks 1). The formation of new neural connections leads to more interactions between parts of

the brain. This leads to the enhancement of brain function and is being proved by extensive

research; “There is increasing amount of scientific evidence that proves art enhances brain

function. It has an impact on brain wave patterns and emotions, the nervous system, and can

actually raise serotonin levels” (Phillips 1). These new connections also help the two

hemispheres of the brain communicate more effectively. When making art, it is believed that

most of the brain activity happens in the right hemisphere of the brain; “By stimulating and

exercising the right hemisphere of the brain, the arts strengthen the connection between the

hemispheres” (Smart Kid 2016). When the brain can communicate effectively between the two

hemispheres, the overall function of the body is effective as well. The neural connectivity of the

brain is also linked to psychological resilience, intelligence, and the reduction of stress. It has

been shown that when a person engages in an art activity, their mental state and intelligence are

improved. A study conducted by researchers, that consisted of gathering 14 men and 14 women

and enrolling half of each into either a hands-on art class or an art appreciation course, “observed

“a significant improvement in psychological resilience” as well as increased levels of “functional

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connectivity” in the brain amongst participants of the visual art production group” (Brooks 1).

Psychological resilience is characterized as the ability for an individual to “control negative

effects of stress and thus enables a successful and healthy functioning even in stressful life

situations” (Bolwerk 1). The connectivity in the brain is also linked with intelligence. For a long

time, scientists believed that intelligence depended on the size of the brain. Through recent

research, they have now concluded that IQ is not based on the size but is actually linked to the

amount of neural connections the brain has. “So, what makes the human brain superior is the

connections not its size - relative or otherwise” (PsyBlog 1). By stimulating the brain to form

new and stronger connections, the arts can help the brain maintain its plasticity. Plasticity is the

“brain’s ability to grow connections and change throughout your lifetime” (Alban 1). It is

necessary for the brain to have plasticity so that it can keep functioning over time. Imagining and

creating art stimulates the brain to keep changing, which helps it in the long run.

The graph shows the correlation between

enrollment in fine arts and graduation rates. For

example, in 2009, as fine arts enrollment increase to

64 percent, the graduation rate increases to 90

percent and above as opposed to the results in 2006.

This shows how involvement in arts can be

beneficial to a student’s academic performance and

ability.

How art can affect the health of a person is a subject that is still being researched. There

is a lot more information to be acquired but studies conducted in the past have given us a glimpse
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of what art can do. They have proven that art is beneficial to a person’s brain health because it

can reduce stress, alleviate the effects of illness, enhance and build up necessary skills, and help

maintain the brain’s plasticity. Art has been linked to the production of positive emotions, which

help with stress and illness. It has been shown that art helps build up skills such as problem-

solving, creative-thinking, and fine motor skills. The activities related to art allow a person to

come up with their own solutions and perform tasks that require dexterity. Studies have also

shown that making art stimulates the brain to form new neural connections, and increase

plasticity and intelligence. This all leads to my conclusion that art really does matter and is for

everyone. The arts should be regarded as necessary for education, the improvement of the lives

of patients, and the mental health of a person. It matters because there are many lives out there

that can be helped, and the arts pose a solution.

Works Cited

Alban, Deane. “The Mental Benefits of Art Are for Everyone.” Be Brain Fit, 19 Dec. 2017,
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https://bebrainfit.com/the-health-benefits-of-art-are-for-everyone/ (Alban 1)

Bolwerk, Anne, et al. “How Art Changes Your Brain: Differential Effects of Visual Art

Production and Cognitive Art Evaluation on Functional Brain Connectivity.” PLOS ONE, Public

Library of Science, 1 July 2014, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4077746

Brooks, Katherine, “Artists’ Brains Have More ‘Grey Matter’ Than The Rest of Ours, Study

Finds.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 22 Apr. 2014,

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/22/artist-brain_n_5187216.html?utm_hp_ref=arts

Brooks, Katherine. “Study Says Making Art Is Good For Your Brain, And We Say You Should

Listen.” The Huffington Post, The Huffingtion Post.com, 8 July 2014,

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/08/how-art-changes-your-brain_n_5567050.html

Clear, James. “Make More Art: The Health Benefits of Creativity.” James Clear, 2 Oct. 2017,

https://jamesclear.com/make-more-art

Earnhart, Jeremy L. “Articulating the Why, Mission, and Data for Effective Music Education

Advocacy - Jeremy L. Earnhart.” Sam Houston State University,

www.shsu.edu/academics/music/center-for-music-education/praxis/articles/earnhart_articulating-

the-why.html.

Griner, Danielle. “Utilize Art To Increase Fine Motor Skills.” Specialism, 4 Aug. 2015,

www.special-ism.com/utilize-art-to-increase-fine-motor-skills/

Phillips, Lisa. “The Top 10 Skills Children Learn From The Arts.” ARTS Blog, 26 Nov. 2012,

https://blog.americansforthearts.org/2012/11/26/the-top-10-skills-children-learn-from-the-arts

Phillips, Renee. “Art Enhances Brain Function and Well-being.” The Healing Power of ART

ARTISTS, 2015, https://www.healing-power-of-art.org/art-and-the-brain/

Smithstein, Samantha. “Love, Desire, and…. Art!” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 3 Sept.
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2011, www.psychologytoday.com/blog/what-the-wild-things-are/201109/love-desire-and-art

Stuckey, Heather L., and Jeremy Nobel. “The Connection Between Art, Healing, and Public

Health: A Review of Current Literature.” American Journal of Public Health, American Public

Association, Feb. 2010, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2804629/

“Brain Size And IQ: 8,000 Scans Test The Link.” PsyBlog, 16 Oct. 2015,

http://www.spring.org.uk/2015/10/8000-brain-scans-test-if-brain-size-is-linked-with-iq.php